Gen Z: The people who've never seen soaring prices before

BBC

Those aged 18 to 25 have never experienced inflation before in their lives – how are they coping?

Prices are rising at rates not seen in decades – and that surging inflation is something that millions of young people have never had to deal with before.

In fact, for Gen Z, those aged from 18 to 25, this is the first time they have experienced significant inflation in their life time.

We asked this generation, whose lives and careers have been some of the hardest hit by the pandemic, how they are being affected.

‘I’m paying £100 more a month on petrol’

Jessica Langton, who is required to drive long journeys between farms for her job in cattle reproduction, told the BBC she had seen her petrol costs rise by £100 per month.

The 21-year-old – who lives in Derby – is in the final year of her studies, funded by a tuition loan with a fixed interest rate.

She is concerned that wages have not increased in line with the cost of living, which means that a sudden bill – such as a car breakdown – would be a “huge stress to cover”.

“You’re meant to work to live rather than the other way round and the rising costs of everything aren’t helping young people at the moment,” she told the BBC.

“My sister is 15 and I’m worried about her fees as fixed interest rate loans may be harder to get then and I think fees should’ve been discounted during the pandemic,” she added.

Due to higher food and drink costs, Ms Langton said she and her friends had cut back on restaurant and pub visits.

“Inflation has added a lot of mental pressure and stress,” she said.

“A lot of my friends are on the minimum wage and are really struggling as it’s far behind inflation.”

‘I can’t move out of the family home’

Alfie Kearns, from Liverpool, told the BBC he believed inflation was making it harder to save money so that he can move out of his family home.

“Energy bills and gas and everything has been going up,” he said. “Especially with it being the winter period, there’s definitely increases anyways but this [rising costs] is just the cherry on top.”

“A big thing for me right now is I want to move out, I want my own home and that’s the next step for me and it’s just impossible in the current climate,” he said.

“It’s so hard to save as it is. If you want more affordable housing you have to go through different sort of systems with the council where the demand is just extortionate and extreme, so you would be waiting forever.”

The 24-year-old was on Universal Credit at the start of 2021 before getting a job through the government’s Kickstart scheme.

Now Alfie helps others find work at I Am Moore, an organisation which helps get young people into careers. Alfie said he had met a lot of recent graduates in his new job. He said they have “talents and ambition”, but were unable to find work.

“The younger generation, they should be motivated and supported into adulthood, but instead we are sort of scuppered with rising costs,” he added.

“It’s like running a marathon with no finishing line in sight.”