Young adulthood has traditionally been seen as the point where people begin building their independence. Finding a job, moving away from home, developing a career and beginning to create financial security are milestones many previous generations expected to reach during their twenties.
For many of today’s young adults, however, that journey is becoming significantly more difficult.
New analysis commissioned by the BBC and carried out using UK data by the Institute for Fiscal Studies suggests people in their twenties are experiencing a tougher start to adulthood than generations before them. The findings look beyond individual experiences and reveal wider changes in employment, earnings, housing and financial independence. The latest IFS analysis found that the overall employment rate at age 25 for the most recent generation was 74%, compared with an average of 77% for those born between 1972 and 1996. Median earnings at age 25 have also largely stagnated, while 42% of the latest generation were living with their parents at age 25 and only 15% owned their own home.
For young people trying to establish themselves in the labour market, these figures matter. Starting a career becomes considerably more difficult when the first step onto the employment ladder becomes harder to secure.
Finding Work Is Only Part of the Challenge
Even young adults who successfully enter employment are facing financial pressures.
According to the latest IFS analysis, median pre-tax earnings for 25-year-olds increased significantly between earlier generations before largely stagnating. For the 1997–2001 generation, median earnings at age 25 were around £28,000 in 2024–25 prices, broadly similar to levels seen two decades earlier.
At the same time, housing remains a major challenge.
Homeownership among 25-year-olds has fallen dramatically across generations. The IFS found that around 43% of those born in the late 1950s to mid-1960s owned their own home at age 25, compared with just 15% of the 1997–2001 generation. Meanwhile, the proportion living with their parents has risen to 42%.
Together, these figures demonstrate why employment cannot simply be viewed as whether someone has a job. The quality, security and progression available through that employment matter too.
A young person can do everything expected of them — complete their education, gain qualifications, apply for jobs and enter employment — and still find that financial independence remains difficult to achieve.
The First Opportunity Matters
For young people who are unemployed or not in education, employment or training, these wider pressures can make the challenge even greater.
When established young professionals are struggling with housing costs, wage stagnation and employment insecurity, those attempting to enter the labour market without significant experience can face an even steeper climb.
Entry-level opportunities therefore matter enormously.
Employers willing to look beyond previous experience and recognise potential can give someone the opportunity that begins an entire career. Apprenticeships, work placements, mentoring, technical education and practical employability programmes can provide additional routes into industries that might otherwise feel inaccessible.
Young people also need opportunities where they can develop confidence alongside their skills. Repeated applications and rejection can gradually affect someone’s belief in what they are capable of achieving, particularly when they are trying to secure their first meaningful role.
The answer cannot simply be telling young people to apply for more jobs. There must also be enough genuine opportunities available for them to apply for.
Employers Can Help Build the Next Generation
Businesses have an important role in changing this picture.
Creating entry-level positions, apprenticeships and structured development opportunities allows employers to identify talent that may not yet have years of experience on a CV. Someone entering the workplace for the first time will naturally require guidance, but with the right environment they can develop into an important part of an organisation.
Businesses also benefit from building their future workforce.
Young employees bring new perspectives, digital knowledge, creativity and different experiences into organisations. Investing in their development can create skilled employees who grow alongside the business.
Creating opportunities for young people should therefore not simply be viewed as a social responsibility. It can also be an investment in the future workforce of the UK.
Progress May Look Different for This Generation
The traditional timeline of adulthood is changing.
Moving out, buying a home, establishing a career and becoming financially secure may happen later for today’s generation than it did for their parents or grandparents. That does not mean young people lack ambition.
It means the environment around them has changed.
Recognising those differences is important because constantly comparing today’s young adults with previous generations can overlook the economic realities they are navigating.
What matters now is ensuring that delayed milestones do not become permanently lost opportunities.
What I’M MORE Believes
At I’M MORE, we believe a person’s current circumstances should never define the limits of their future.
Young people entering today’s labour market are navigating a different landscape from generations before them. Some will move directly from education into employment. Others will experience unemployment, rejection, uncertainty or periods where they simply do not know what direction to take next.
They still have potential.
By creating stronger connections between education, employers, skills development and real employment opportunities, we can help more young people discover what they are capable of and take meaningful steps towards independence.
This is central to the I’M MORE mission and our belief that people should have the opportunity to Discover. Believe. Become.
The evidence may show that today’s twenty-somethings are facing a tougher start. Our response should be to make sure they are not expected to overcome those challenges alone.
Because when the path becomes harder, creating opportunity becomes even more important.
Research Source
This article draws on the Institute for Fiscal Studies analysis, , published on 29 July 2026 and commissioned exclusively for the BBC.
