"The long-held belief that each generation should do better than the last is under threat"

Dalrock has found an interesting report from the UK about the declining earnings of young men there. The gist of it is that an increasing number of young men in the UK are working in lower-paid industries, such as retail and bars and hotels. They are now earning significantly less in their 20s than did the previous generation. Women's wages have stagnated rather than fallen.

Some excerpts from a Business Insider article:

Men in their 20s are earning significantly less than the generation before them and it is closing the gender pay gap.

Millennial men have earned less than Generation X men in every year between the ages of 22 and 30, resulting in a cumulative pay deficit during their 20s of £12,500 ($15,638). However, the unit found that millennial women's pay is stagnant compared to the last generation.

This in turn means the gender pay gap is closing — but it's not good news. In fact, Resolution Foundation says "millennial women have experienced neither generational pay progress or decline. This has narrowed the gender pay gap for millennials – but for the wrong reasons."

"The long-held belief that each generation should do better than the last is under threat," said Torsten Bell, Executive Director at the Resolution Foundation.

"Millennials today are the first to earn less than their predecessors."

Dalrock connects this decline in male earnings to the decline in marriage. This argument is clear enough. If young men no longer believe that being a provider is a pathway into a happy and successful marriage, then there is less incentive for them to commit to a full-time career.

As for generational decline, that has been obvious to me for some time, but it's noteworthy that a business newspaper should acknowledge it. If you have a quasi-religious belief in progress it must be particularly challenging to have to acknowledge generational decline.