Economic Pessimism is on the Rise Among Many Youths

It’s a tough time to be a kid.

Not only are children and young adults suffering from the mental stress brought on by the pandemic and the isolation it necessitated, many are increasingly becoming concerned about the challenges that await them in their adult life.

A recent international, multigenerational study by UNICEF found that young people in high-income countries are extraordinarily pessimistic about their economic futures, with 59% of 15-24 year olds saying they will be worse off than their parents. (The parents aren’t doing much to counter those fears, with just 27% of 40+ year olds in high-income areas saying they believed that children in their country would be economically better off than their parents.)

“Their views reflect the economic reality that real wages over the past two decades have almost tripled in emerging and developing G20 countries, while barely budging in advanced economies,” the report concludes.

Not all the news is quite so gloomy. Globally, on the whole, in fact, young people are feeling good about the future. It’s just that the richer their country of origin, the less ebullient they are.

Overall, more than half of young people across the 21 countries surveyed (some 54%) said they believed today’s children will be better off. Among countries with upper-middle incomes, half of the young people surveyed were optimistic about the future. And in low and lower-middle income countries, that figure jumped to 69%.

“In my parents’ time, there weren’t so many opportunities for a job. Nowadays in the garment industry or other sectors, jobs are more available. Whoever is educated a little [is] getting a job,” said one respondent in Bangladesh, even after he had been forced to leave school due to COVID-19 lockdowns.

In fact, despite the pandemic crisis, optimism seems to be on the rise globally among young people. Across all 21 countries surveyed, a median of 57% said the believe the world is becoming a better place with each new generation. The older people got, the lower that optimism was. And, again, the economic status of the respondent had an impact.

In wealthy countries like the U.S., Japan and Germany, the optimism for the future saw gaps of 19 points or more among 40+ year olds and younger people. In poorer countries, like India, Bangladesh, Morocco and Nigeria, the generations were more aligned in their hope for the future.

The COVID-19 crisis is a very real one for young people, though. An estimated 1.5 children worldwide have become COVID orphans, losing a parent, grandparent or caregiver during the pandemic. And as many as 2/3 of the world’s students have seen their education disrupted by the virus, with an estimated 1.8 trillion hours of in-person learning lost.

“A failure to contain COVID, including a failure to vaccinate the world, is threatening to reverse decades of progress on child and maternal health, education, and child labor,” says the report.

While the children of America and other wealthy, industrialized nations have concerns about the economic future, the study paints a picture of today’s youth that is hopeful on many levels. Many of the fears and complaints about the coming generation are the same grumbles that people in their 40s heard when they were young. But UNICEF says there’s no real factual information to back up any of those complaints.

“Clichés about young people being entitled, demanding, or naïve are not backed up by data,” the report says. “Even against the longest odds and some of the toughest problems in a century or more – the climate crisis and the ongoing pandemic – children and young people are not giving up. They are aware of the world’s problems, they are cognizant of the misinformation that takes up so much virtual space, and many are wrestling with anxiety or depressed moods. And yet, they are looking to a better future.”

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Other Topics

Economy Careers