Much has been written about millennials, with a recent report from the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality one of the more interesting among them.  It explains how millennials without a degree are not only likely to earn less, but also are more likely to die prematurely than peers from previous generations.

What’s more, they also pick from a much broader range of identities, embracing multiracial and unconventional gender identities, although this doesn’t always make them more tolerant of those that are different than them than previous generations.

The millennial generation grew up in the midst of the great recession, and as they attempted to enter the labor force during that period, they suffered through the decades-long economic issues that accompanied it, including inequality and poor economic mobility.

“We can think of them as canaries in the coalmine who reveal just how toxic those problems are. By assembling a report that provides a comprehensive understanding of their situation, we can go beyond the usual patchwork policy and begin to address underlying problems,” the authors explain.

Labor experiences

For millennials with a university education, labor market prospects were comparable to peers from previous generations.  Where things diverge however is in the prospects of millennials without a university education.  Those people earn around $2,600 less per year than Gen Xers, and nearly $10,000 less per year than Baby Boomers at the same age.

“It’s not that going to college amounts to striking gold for most people,” the researchers say. “The big news is that if you don’t go to college you’re likely to do worse than ever. What makes college attractive is mainly that it offers some protection from that fate.”

The dire situation for un-educated millennials continues when the researchers turned to their health.  Data showed that between 2008 and 2016, mortality rates rose by over 20%, with suicide and drug overdoses a common cause.

Identities

The report also highlights how millennials had very distinct views on their identity, and were more likely to identify as multiracial and/or adopt unconventional gender identities.

Despite this apparent openness to different identities, there remain clear similarities with previous generations.  For instance, 1/5 millennials still have very traditional views on gender roles, which is broadly comparable to previous generations.  What’s more, a similar proportion of millennials are likely to believe blacks are lazier than whites as previous generations.

“When it comes to their identities, millennials are a truly innovative generation that is forging new options,” the researchers explain. “But when it comes to their attitudes about race and gender, they’re just not as special.”

Another common gripe cited by millennials is around home ownership, and the data supports their concerns, but there are clear racial differences, with young white adults 2.7 times as likely to own a home than their black peers.  Worryingly, this gap is larger than it was in the past.

The authors believe that their findings help us to better understand the challenges millennials face, and the racial, gender and economic foundations of these problems.  They hope that this greater understanding will allow smarter policies to emerge to address them.

“If you understand the economic and social context within which millennials are growing up,” they conclude, “it’s natural to feel real empathy and hard, by contrast, to understand the anger that’s often directed toward them.”