The pandemic, precarious work, and an increasingly unaffordable rental market have increased the number of millennials living at home by thousands.
The 2021 census revealed that the number of independent children aged 25-34 living at home has skyrocketed, according to figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The number of male children in this age group living at home rose to 280,133 – a 17 percent increase since the 2016 Census.
The number of women between the ages of 25 and 34 living at home also rose to 176,413, an increase of 14 percent.
Dr. Brendan Churchill, a sociology lecturer at the University of Melbourne, said Covid-19 was likely the biggest factor behind the shift.
“There was a significant number of young people who had to leave their rent and return home during the pandemic; they may have stayed there,” he said.
Camera icon The pandemic was probably the biggest factor behind the shift. NCA NewsWire/David Crosling Credit: News Corp Australia
In addition, if the pandemic has caused people’s savings to take a hit, it may have prevented their return to the rental market or a place of their own.
Dr. Churchill said the “general declining fortunes of young people” in the job market was another big factor.
“Full-time, secure, high-paying, benefit-driven jobs are drying up for young people,” he said.
“The labor market for young people is no longer what it used to be; it has been degrading and diminishing in recent decades, and young people are struggling to get those jobs that pay well and provide them with good income security be able to move out.
“I think this is all some kind of conspiracy to make it harder for young people to leave the parental home.
“People stay at home longer because it’s just affordable.”
Camera Icon Young adults are living at home again because it’s affordable. Credit: istock
The figures were similar for independent men aged 35-44, with 97,131 men living at home, an increase of 12 percent.
Forty-seven thousand four hundred ninety-one women in the same age group lived at home, an increase of 13 percent.
In addition to job insecurity and the pandemic, the rise in rents has made it difficult for people to find affordable housing that suits their needs, Dr. Churchill said.
“It’s easier for young people; it’s more affordable, it’s a home, you know, and if you need anything, chances are your family is already ready for those things. So I think that indicates how bad the housing market is right now.”
For the 44-54 age group, the number of non-dependent men living at home increased by 15 percent, compared to 14 percent for women.
In the 55-64 cohort, there was a 23 percent increase for men and 22 percent for women.
Independent children are natural, adopted, step, or foster children of a couple or single parent who usually live in the household. They also do not have an identified partner or child who usually lives in the home.
Camera icon Thousands of young adults live at home, census data show. Credit: Included
The latest census data also shows that the number of millennials (aged 25-39) has overtaken the baby boomers (aged 55-74) as the largest generational group in Australia.
In the 1966 census, nearly two in five people (38.5 percent) were baby boomers.
Baby boomers and millennials have more than 5.4 million people, with only 5,662 more baby boomers than millennials counted as of August 10, 2021.
Over the past ten years, millennials have increased from 20.4 percent of the population in 2011 to 21.5 percent in 2021. The baby boomers, meanwhile, have declined from 25.4 percent in 2011 to 21.5 percent in 2021.
Millennials are of working age and upskilling, representing 40 percent of those in vocational education, including TAFE, and 48 percent of those currently in the regular service of the Australian Defense Force.
