Young People on the Move – Geographic Consequences for the US
A recent article on AdAdge.com extrapolated US Census data to show that between 2000 and 2009, over 40,000 people moved out of the NorthEast and the MidWest. These were mainly young people, under forty, who moved to the South and West of the United States.
The AdAge article points out that this “long-term loss of Millennials has dire consequences that may be irreversible,” since this age group is critical to state economies. Millennials or Gen Y, as we typically refer to them on this blog, are aged between 25 and 34 and already have enormous spending power. Soon they will be buying houses, cars and feeding families so it’s likely that they will continue to spend as they get older. This means a lot of lost income for the NorthEast and MidWest, and a boon for the West and South.
Which brings us to the consequences that this migration has on the workforce. More young people will be looking for jobs in the West and South; the areas they left will be saddled with aging populations, fewer employees and less consumer spending. What will this demographic tsunami do to our national economy? And how will each region prepare for it?
