Portland Young Adults Worse Off Than Parent’s Generation

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Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Joanna Evoniuk, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Young adults in the Portland metro-area are worse off than their parent’s generation, data from the U.S. Census Bureau revealed. Although the disparity is part of a national trend, the Portland metro-area is doing slightly better for its young adults than the rest of the country. 

The Bureau compared census results from 1980 through 2013 in the Portland metro area for adults between 18 and 34 years old. It showed employment and wages for young adults have steadily declined over that time period in Portland and the U.S.  

Today’s young adults, known as millennials, were born between the 1980s and late ‘90s. Their parents— born in the 1950s and ‘60s—come from the baby boomer generation and were young adults during the 1980s. 
The Bureau’s data highlighted how life has changed for adults today compared to their parents. A smaller percentage of young adults are employed now than the 1980s. Young adults made up 68 percent of the work force between 2009 and 2013, a drop from 72.8 percent in 1980. 

Average wages have dropped as well for millennials. The Census Bureau compared yearly wages in 2013 inflation adjusted dollars and found Portland young adults now make over 10,000 dollars less than in 1980, averaging 34,000 dollars a year. 

The effect of fewer jobs and lower wages is reflected in millennial’s living conditions. The percent of the age group living in poverty rose over 7 percent between 1980 and 2013.  Also, more young adults are still living at home. Over 24 percent of 18 through 35 year olds live with a parent compared to the 15.5 percent in 1980. 

Economic downturn in the late 1980s and the 2008 Recession were behind lower wages and employment rates for all age groups, but especially for the younger ones.

“[Recessions] always hits young people much worse than anyone else,” John Gallup, associate professor of economics at Portland State University, said. “Anyone new is going to have a terrible time, due to the fact people are not hiring.”  

Millennials in Portland

However, Portland millennials are better off now than the rest of the U.S. The population of young adults employed here was 3.5 percent higher than the national average in 2009 through 2013. They also earned over 2,000 dollars a year above the national average in the same time period.  Less young Portlanders live with their parents than the rest of the country as well, by over 6 percent. 

This could be because the Portland metro-area started out above national averages in the 1980s for these categories, according to Jonathan Vespa, Demographer for U.S. Census Bureau. 

Portland has become a hub for millennials in recent years. Although the overall young adult percentage of the metro’s population has dropped by almost 8 percent since 1980, they still make up 23.7 percent.

Portland has been ranked as one of the best metro areas for young adults and has increased economic devlopment.   

“Areas with a younger work force grow much faster than those who don’t,” Gallup said. “[Young adults] provide lubricant for all kinds of change. They bring new ideas, energy, and enthusiasm.”

The drop in the share of young adults is primarily due to the large population of baby boomers, who were young adults in 1980, according to Charles Rynerson, a demographer with the Population Research Center at Portland State University.  

While the Census Bureau reports that the population age 18 to 34 has grown by 33 percent in the Portland metro area, compared with only 4 percent in the U.S., the population age 35 and older has grown at an even greater rate, resulting in a declining share of young adults in the overall population.  

“It’s really unlikely for there to be a higher share of young adults anyplace in 2013 than in 1980,” Rynerson said. “The Millennials are a smaller cohort than the baby boomers.” 

One thing young adults have been improving in is finishing education. Over 25 percent in Portland have a Bachelor’s Degree or higher, compared to the 18.2 percent in 1980 and 3.5 percent higher than the U.S. average. 

Gallup said he expects the some of these downturns, like wages and employment, to increase in the short run if the economy continues to recover from the recession. However, recovering in the long run could be difficult, according to Gallup. 

Related Articles

• Washington Post: Attracting Young People to Portland, Decades in the Making
• Portlanders Quitting Their Jobs is a Good Sign for the Economy

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