As Expected, Millennials Are Frustrated and Cynical About the Future

Millennials are concerned about the availability of full-time jobs, which is making them feel rather bleak about their future.

Australian youths are growing increasingly frustrated and apathetic about the way the country is being run, according to the new Deloitte 2017 Millennial Survey.

It found only eight per cent of millennials believe they’ll be financially better off than their parents. Commentators say this is a shockingly low result for a country. (Oh boy…)

Just for clarification's sake, the cohort included people who go by Generation Y or Generation Me. However, all participants were born after 1982 and are older than 18.

Less than one in 10 young Aussies reckon they’ll be more financially secure than their parents. It’s a concerning stat, given 36 per cent of youth in the developed world think they’ll be better off than their parents; in the developing world, it’s 71 per cent.

So, why the bleak outlook?

Fact is, millennials feel our future is looking precarious, to say the least, especially contrasted with our parents' period of—pretty much—unprecedented prosperity and peace.

The survey found terrorism and crime are now top concerns for young people in Australia. Climate change was also high on the list of “things millennials are anxious about”. Tagging closely behind were fears of income inequality and the distribution of wealth.

Jobs were the big, pink elephant in the room. A large number of respondents think jobs will be increasingly hard to come by in the future, and even when they are available, they will be increasingly part-time or casual.

While the millennial stereotype is one of laziness and disloyalty to companies, the survey shows otherwise. Apparently, 76 per cent of us want a full-time gig, as opposed to something freelance or consultative.

The great Aussie dream of owning a house now seems unattainable by much of the country’s youth population. Prices have ballooned, particularly in major cities such as Sydney; it’s the second most unaffordable housing city on Earth.

Oh, and that great thing we use all the time called technology? Seems we’re also increasingly worried about the very real prospect of robots taking our (already shrinking) jobs. Thirty-seven per cent of respondents think technology poses a threat to their job prospects.

Inb4 we’re told to just “get over it” though...