“Back in my day” – comparing Millennials with earlier generations

The 2021 Census revealed that Millennials were about to overtake Baby Boomers as the largest generational group in Australia. In 2021, Millennials were aged 25-39 years. This age cohort is commonly associated with key life transitions such as completing study, establishing relationships, marriage, having children and purchasing a home.

The characteristics of generations are shaped by the social, cultural, economic and political situation of the times which affect the way they live and work. Looking at the different social and economic experiences of generational groups helps us to understand the changes that have occurred in Australian society.

This article takes a step into the inter-generational conversation, discussing content that is usually preceded by a statement like ‘back in my day…’.

Generations are social groups of a defined age range that share life experiences, significant events and culture. While there is no universal agreement about their names and date ranges, the generations explored in this article are defined below.

This article will look at Australians aged 25 to 39 years at three different time points – 1991, 2006 and 2021. This gives us a snapshot of the same life stage for Baby Boomers (in 1991), Generation X (in 2006) and Millennials (in 2021).

A person’s living arrangement changes over the course of their life. For the 25-39 year age group, it is often shaped by the formation of relationships and starting a family.

In the 2021 Census, the majority of Millennials (56.9%) lived as a couple family. In comparison, in the 2006 Census when Generation X were at the same age, they were slightly more likely to live as a couple family (58.8%). For Baby Boomers it was even higher - in the 1991 Census two-thirds of 25-39 year olds lived in a couple family (66.1%).

Millennials were least likely to have married or had children compared with Generation X and Baby Boomers back in their day. In 2021, over half (52.6%) of Millennials had never been married, compared with 43.7% of Generation X in 2006 and just over one-quarter (26.4%) of Baby Boomers in 1991.

Compared with earlier generations, Millennials married at an older age. Half of Baby Boomers were married by the age of 27 years. For Generation X half were married by 32 years and for Millennials, 34 years. As a result, a higher proportion of Millennials (19.3%) lived in a de facto relationship in 2021 than Generation X (14.6%) in 2006, and Baby Boomers (7.6%) in 1991.

One out of every five (21.2%) Millennials were living with a partner and children, a significant decrease from the earlier generations. At their same life stage, over forty per cent (40.7%) of Generation X were living with a partner and children, and more than half of the Baby Boomers (51.5%). Millennials were twice as likely to live with an unrelated person (2.4%) than Baby Boomers or Generation X (1.1% and 1.2% respectively) when they were the same age. 

The most common living arrangement for Millennials in 2021 was living in a couple household with no children (35.7%) which was almost twice the rate of Generation X in 2006, and more than twice the rate of Baby Boomers in 1991.

The household size for Millennials was smaller than the other generations. The average number of people per household for Millennials in 2021 was 3.0, compared with 3.1 people for Generation X in 2006 and 3.4 people for Baby Boomers in 1991.

While household sizes were smaller on average for Millennials, dwellings were more likely to have more bedrooms. In 2021, 34.6% of Millennials’ dwellings had four or more bedrooms, compared with 28.7% for Generation X in 2006, and 20.4% for Baby Boomers in 1991.

Millennials were also more likely to have two or more motor vehicles at their dwellings (58.9%), compared to Generation X (56.1%) and Baby Boomers (51.0%).

The likelihood of owning a home when aged 25-39 years decreased for each successive generation. Over half (54.6%) of Millennials in 2021 were homeowners (owned outright or with a mortgage), compared with 62.1% of Generation X in 2006 and almost two-thirds (65.8%) of Baby Boomers in 1991. Millennials were the least likely to own their home outright. Baby Boomers at aged 25-39 years were three times more likely than Millennials to own their home without a mortgage.

As a proportion of median household income, when aged 25-39 years all generations paid a higher proportion on mortgage repayments than on rent. Generation X paid the biggest proportion of their income on both rent and mortgage repayments compared to the other generations.

The Reserve Bank Cash Rate in 2021 was significantly lower than in 2006 and 1991, meaning that Millennials would generally have had lower interest rate mortgages than the earlier generations.

The most common dwelling structure for all generations when aged 25-39 years was separate houses, however Millennials were less likely to live in this type of housing in 2021 than Generation X in 2006 and Baby Boomers in 1991.

25-39 year old Millennials were more likely than the previous generations to be studying at TAFE, university, or other vocational and higher education providers. In 2021, almost one in five (19.1%) Millennials were studying, compared with 17.0% of Generation X in 2006, and 12.2% of Baby Boomers in 1991.

A higher proportion of Millennials studying may be an indication of the increased accessibility and flexibility of higher education. From the late 1980s, the university sector in Australia rapidly expanded with twenty new universities accredited between 1987 and 1999, and an increase in campuses in regional locations[1]. The 21st century has seen growth in the number of educational institutions offering online courses in line with technology advances. This trend was accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The proportion of females studying has increased over time. In 2021, the majority of Millennial students were female (54.0%). This was slightly higher than in 2006 for Generation X (51.5%), however for Baby Boomers in 1991 it was 49.0%, with male students outnumbering females.

Although 25-39 year old students were more likely to be studying part-time for all generations, Millennials were most likely to be full-time students (45.2%), followed by Generation X (36.9%) and Baby Boomers (24.1%).

In 2021, over three-quarters of Millennials (79.2%) had a non-school qualification compared with nearly two-thirds of Generation X (64.2%) in 2006, and less than half (47.6%) of Baby Boomers in 1991. Non-school qualifications include certificates, diplomas, degrees and postgraduate qualifications.

In 2021, 40.5% of Millennials had a bachelor degree or higher (40.5%), compared with one in four (24.8%) Generation X in 2006. In 1991, only one in eight (12.3%) Baby Boomers had a bachelor degree or higher despite tertiary education being free from 1974 until the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) was introduced in 1989[2].

With each successive generation, the proportion of females who obtained non-school qualifications increased. While male Baby Boomers and male Generation X were more likely than females to have qualifications, for Millennials, females were more likely to have these qualifications (81.7%, compared with 76.7% males). In 2021, almost half (46.5%) of Millennial females had a bachelor degree or higher, compared to only one in three (34.3%) Millennial males.

These increases may be partly because of changes in the level of qualifications required for employment. For example, nursing education became an undergraduate degree across all of Australia in 1994[3] and teaching required a 4-year bachelor degree from 2003[4]. Teaching and nursing are female-dominated professions and were in the top five occupations for female Millennials, Generation X and Baby Boomers when they were all aged 25-39 years.

For all generational groups, median incomes of 25-39 year olds were higher than the median incomes of the overall population. Millennials’ personal median income was 40.7% higher than the personal median income for all Australians aged 15 years and over. In comparison, in 2006 the median income for Generation X was 44.8% higher than overall median incomes, and in 1991 Baby Boomers was 43.9% higher.

The median incomes of females were lower than males for all three generations when aged 25-39 years. As a proportion of male median incomes, the median income of females was 73.8% for Millennials, 60.7% for Generation X, and 56.5% for Baby Boomers. The difference in income between males and females may in part be due to females overall working fewer hours than males.

When looking at the personal median incomes for those who worked full-time (35 hours and over per week), the income of Millennials in 2021 was 0.7% lower than the personal median income of all Australians aged 15 years and over. In comparison, the median income for Generation X in 2006 was 5.6% higher, and for Baby Boomers in 1991 it was 8.3% higher than the median income of all Australians aged 15 years and over at the time.

For people working full time hours, the median income of females as a proportion of male median incomes was 91.7% for Millennials, 89.8% for Generation X, and 86.4% for Baby Boomers.

The importance of a university qualification to earning a high income has increased with each generation. When looking at those in the top 15% of income earners (high earners), we can see that almost two-thirds of high earning Millennials (65.4%) had a bachelor degree or higher compared with 52.2% of Generation X in 2006, and 38.2% of Baby Boomers in 1991.

Less than ten per cent (8.7%) of Millennial high earners in 2021 had no qualifications, compared to over one-quarter (26.0%) of Baby Boomer high earners in 1991. For Millennials in 2021, the occupation with the most high income earners with no qualifications was ‘Drillers, Miners and Shot Firers’. For Baby Boomers in 1991 it was ‘Sales Representatives’.

The economic conditions at any point in time influence labour market conditions in Australia. In 1991 Australia was in a recession, in 2006 the country was in a period of strong economic growth, and in 2021 we were impacted by a global pandemic. Participation in the labour force was also affected by broader social changes such as paid parental leave, childcare arrangements and shifts in equality in the workplace. 

Overall, participation in the labour force for Millennials in 2021 was similar to Generation X in 2006 and Baby Boomers in 1991, with around four in five employed or looking for work. The Baby Boomers in 1991 experienced higher unemployment with 8.4% looking for work, much higher than the labour market experienced by Generation X in 2006 and Millennials in 2021 when unemployment was under four per cent. The other main differences in labour force participation across the generations were between males and females.

The main factors influencing participation in the labour force for the 25-39 year age group were studying or caring for dependent children. As families had fewer children than they have had in the past, females of child-bearing age were increasingly less likely to leave the workforce.

For females, Millennials were more likely than earlier generations to be in the labour force. For the one in five Millennial females not in the labour force (18.3%), over two-thirds of this group (68.0%) were parents with children. In comparison, the proportion of Baby Boomer females not in the labour force in 1991 was 30.4%, and most (84.3%) were parents with children.

Australians are increasingly adopting flexible working arrangements, such as working from home, job sharing and working reduced hours. Under the Fair Work Act 2009 employees have the right to ask for flexible working arrangements for reasons such as disability or caring responsibilities[5].

In 2021, over one in five Millennials (22.5%) worked from home compared with 3.4% of Generation X in 2006, and 4.6% of Baby Boomers in 1991. The difference was likely enhanced by the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions experienced by the 25-39 year old Millennials.

The proportion of people that worked part-time hours increased with each successive generation. Over one-third (34.6%) of Millennials worked part-time hours, compared with one-quarter of Baby Boomers (25.3%). While females were more likely than males to work part-time hours for all generations, males were increasingly working fewer hours. Millennial males were almost twice as likely as Baby Boomer males to work part-time hours.

1. Historical development of Australian Universities Sector, University Rankings, www.univeristyrankings.com.au/history-australian-universities/ 
2. The changing structure of higher education in Australia, 1949-2003, Deakin University. https://www.deakin.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/402594/swp2003_07.pdf 
3. Submission to Senate Community Affairs Reference Committee Inquiry into Nursing, Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs, July 2001
4. Department of Education, Science and Training, 2003, Australia's teachers, Australia's future: advancing innovation, science, technology and mathematics, https://research.acer.edu.au/tll_misc/1/
5. Fair Work Ombudsman, Flexible working arrangement, https://www.fairwork.gov.au/employment-conditions/flexibility-in-the-workplace/flexible-working-arrangements