One of the most frustrating aspects of everyday life for the younger generations, primarily the so-called Gen Zers—or Zoomers—of this world, is that they never feel they can get ahead economically. It almost does not matter if they go to college, learn a trade, or start a small business—they express a prevailing feeling of always working against the odds. The Gen Zers do have a point. It is definitely harder for those 30 or younger to establish themselves in today’s European economy than it was for their parents. For those of us who were born in the early years of Generation X, the economy was a lot more open and inviting than it is today. Generation Z is quite possibly the first who will be doomed to a lifelong struggle at the bottom of a stagnant economy. The daily struggle will be not to get ahead financially but simply to defend a standard of living with the very basics of what an industrialized economy can offer. Their hopes to achieve their parents’ levels of prosperity are vanishing out the window, carried away by such depressing economic outlooks as the European Commission’s Autumn 2025 Economic Forecast. It predicts that the economy of the European Union will grow by an average of 1.3% per year, after inflation, through 2027.
This is well below what an economy needs in order to allow its young workers to achieve the same standard of living as their parents had. That threshold is at 2% real GDP growth per year. Thus, the young generation’s path to prosperity is longer and narrower than it was for their parents.
