Crisis: 72.9% of Spanish under-30s live with their parents
55% youth unemployment, low wages make starter homes a mirage
(ANSAmed) - MADRID, AUGUST 22 - Prolonged recession and record unemployment rates are forcing 72.9% of Spaniards aged under 30 to live with their parents, according to a new study by the Youth Council of Spain (CJE).
With 55% youth unemployment (against an overall jobless rate of 26%), eight out of ten people aged under 30 are financially unable to fly the nest, according to the study released by the CJE's Observatory on Emancipation.
Those who do have jobs are often paid so little, they can't afford to buy or rent starter homes, the study showed. ''Based on the premise that you should be able to cover your monthly rent or mortgage payment with 30% of your salary, entry-level jobs should pay 80% more than they currently do,'' said sociologist Joffre Lopez and CJE Socioeconomic Commission head Sheyla Suarez, who co-authored the study. Based on current average salaries and real estate prices, a 30-40 year old in Spain can only realistically afford an average rental in the provinces of Extremadura and Castilla-La Mancha.
This, in spite of an estimated 800,000 empty residential units left behind by a speculative real estate bubble.
What this adds up to, say Lopez and Suarez, is that ''young people are being almost systematically expelled from the real estate market.'' To make matters worse, more than half of under-30 employees are overqualified for their jobs. This figure is 53.9% among graduates aged 16-29, and 56.1% for graduates aged 30-34. Another 3% of the under-30 set has given up studying and looking for work altogether, the study showed.
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