Millennials making less than Gen Xers

Millennials are making less than the previous generation according to a new study.

Millennials in their early 30s reportedly earn less than what their Generation X counterparts were making at the same age.  The younger generation makes four-percent less, on average, according to the U.K. based think-tank Resolution Foundation.

Real earnings fell twice as fast between 2006 and 2014 for those under 30 in the UK than for those in their 50s – a bigger age divide than recorded in any other country with pronounced earnings declines overall.

The study also found that home ownership levels are falling, which leads to less wealth generation. Progress in generation-on-generation wealth levels has ground to a halt for younger generations who are now experiencing a decline.  The study blames low levels of housing stock relative to population size and sluggish levels of home-building since the 1990s, leading to elevated home prices that raised the barriers of entry to homeownership for younger generations.

The study analyzed earnings in eight high-income countries.  Millennials are considered to have been born in the years 1980-2000 while Generation X members were born between 1966-1980.