Millennials: The Changing Face of Young Adults in the Furniture Industry Education and Unemployment Rates
July 29,
2016 by in General 
Millennials: The Changing Face of Young Adults in the Furniture Industry Education and Unemployment Rates
This is the third factoid in a series of five factoids that explore demographically how the Millennials have altered the population, income, education and household characteristics of both the Under 25 and 25 to 34 age groups over a ten-year period. Millennials, Americans born roughly between 1982 and 2000, account for more than one quarter of the nation’s population. As of 2015, these 17 to 34 year olds numbered 83.1 million and have surpassed the 75.4 million Baby Boomers.
Education
The percentage of Millennials that are college educated is higher than any generation preceding it, a fact that should bode well for future economic growth. Over seventy percent of Millennials have some higher education; a much higher percentage than their Boomer parents.
Unemployment
Despite the level of education, a staggering number of Millennials are still looking for work. At the end of last year, 9.4 percent of adults ages 20 to 24 seeking jobs were still unemployed.
The next factoid will detail the delays in marriage and home buying among Millennials.
Millennials: The Changing Face of Young Adults in the Furniture Industry Marriage and Homeownership
This is the fourth factoid in a series of five factoids that explore demographically how the Millennials have altered the population, income, education and household characteristics of both the Under 25 and 25 to 34 age groups over a ten-year period. Millennials, Americans born roughly between 1982 and 2000, account for more than one quarter of the nation’s population. As of 2015, these 17 to 34 year olds numbered 83.1 million and have surpassed the 75.4 million Baby Boomers.
Marriage
Of all of the characteristics of Millennials, perhaps none is more significant to the home furnishings industry than the tendency to delay marriage. In less than ten years, the marriage rate shifted from 38 percent of adults marrying by age 34 to only 26.8 percent. Marriage spurs home ownership and family planning which in turn feeds the home furnishings industry.
Home ownership
Although Millennials make up the largest and most educated generation in American history, the combination of economic factors, delayed marriage and family formations and shifting consumer attitudes also make them the slowest to embrace home ownership. This is most evident in the 25 to 34 age group where home ownership has fallen 10 percentage points in 10 years. In 2004, 49 percent of Millennials owned their own homes compared to 39 percent in 2014.
The final factoid will show the state of both furniture expenditures and industry sales across all age groups.
Millennials: The Changing Face of Young Adults in the Furniture Industry Average Annual Furniture Expenditures and Furniture Industry Sales by Age Group: In Selected Years
This is the final factoid in a series of five factoids that explore demographically how the Millennials have altered the population, income, education and household characteristics of both the Under 25 and 25 to 34 age groups over a ten-year period. Millennials, Americans born roughly between 1982 and 2000, account for more than one quarter of the nation’s population. As of 2015, these 17 to 34 year olds numbered 83.1 million and have surpassed the 75.4 million Baby Boomers.
The glut of the Millennials, the Under 25 age group, is one of the few groups to increase expenditures on furniture in the last 10 years, although expenditures still comprise only about 5 percent of industry sales. Many of these Millennials, however, still rely heavily on family financial support. Millennials ages 25 to 34 as well as the older GenX 35 to 44 group, traditionally the core of the furniture industry, have both failed to reach pre-recession furniture expenditures – down 8.2 percent and 12.3 percent.
For the home furnishings industry, the Millennials always seem to be just over the horizon but yet to make their big entrance. In terms of furniture industry sales, sales to the Baby Boomers are still growing, but they will begin to lessen their impact and make way for the Millennials.
Many things add up to help explain the slow arrival of the Millennials on the home furnishings consumer scene. The long recovery from the recession brought stagnant wages and higher unemployment. Add to that the delaying of marriage and slow home purchases. But the industry is ready.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Consumer Expenditure Survey. Note: Expenditures by the CES survey are generally significantly lower than the Personal Expenditure Survey conducted by the Bureau of Economic Analysis and may not include all furniture purchases.
Impact Consulting Services, Inc., Proprietary Industry Model