Young people are increasingly concerned about the future of the planet, and their finances are in less and less good shape, reveals a study released Wednesday by the polling firm Léger.
As part of the 6e edition of the Youth study, the organization surveyed 3,015 people aged 16 to 40, who are part of Generation Z or millennials, across Canada. The firm determined that members of Generation Z were born from 1996 onwards.
“What is increasing quite significantly compared to last year is their concern about climate change, that is to say the consequences associated with climate change, but also the environmental situation in general,” says Christian Bourque, vice -executive president of Léger, in interview.
The study states that 51% of young people think the environmental situation will deteriorate in 2024, an increase of eight percentage points from last year, and 60% of them are concerned about the consequences associated with climate change. , or seven percentage points more than in 2022.
“They have always been the two generations most concerned about the environment. Then, probably the disastrous summer we had, the forest fires almost everywhere, the floods here, so all the climatic events that took place, probably had a direct impact on the concerns of young people with regard to climate change,” underlines Mr. Bourque.
“All the indicators that relate to personal finances, this year in particular, the results are worrying,” he continues.
More than half (51%) of Gen Z and millennials live paycheck to paycheck. More and more of them are also feeling the impact of the increased cost of living on their credit card or bill payments, i.e. 48%, corresponding to eight percentage points more than in 2022.
During the pandemic, the results of the study highlighted problems relating to the mental health of young people.
“Now it’s becoming a climate and financial crisis at the same time,” says Mr. Bourque, while the study indicates that 29% of young people consider their personal finances to be in poor condition.
The housing crisis also has an impact on younger generations. Nearly three in four study respondents (72%) believe that their rent or mortgage takes up too much of their budget.
“They say they go to restaurants a little less, they say they buy a little less clothes, they go on fewer cultural outings than before to try to make ends meet, and still, they have difficulty paying their bills. invoices,” maintains Mr. Bourque.
Less unfaithful in jobs
Young people have a reputation for bouncing from job to job, but this year, Léger’s study shows that for the past two years, they have been more inclined to stay in their current position.
In 2021, 25% of respondents said they intended to leave their job within the next year, compared to 13% in 2022 and 15% this year.
Millennials and members of Generation Z, however, stand out on this issue, since 22% of Z who responded to the 2023 survey said they intended to leave their job in the next 12 months, while this proportion increased. rises to 11% among millennials.
According to Mr. Bourque, this trend is explained by young people’s greater fear of a recession, and the increase in their fear of losing their job.
“When we feel more uncertainty around us in life in general, to reduce this insecurity, we tend to stay put a little more,” says Mr. Bourque.