"Whitney explained that while Gen Z and millennials have propped up consumer spending and have often been considered the backbone of the post-pandemic economy, their financial underpinnings are increasingly fragile. Whitney described Gen Z and millennials-she said she calls them the "avocado toast consumer"-as being uniquely exposed due to a convergence of economic factors that threaten their resilience: rising costs, stagnant wages, unaffordable housing, and a waning safety net from pandemic-era benefits."
"Whitney points to decelerating and even negative consumer spending in key categories that comprise approximately 20% of the workforce, including hotel, hospitality, and retail sectors, as a primary indicator. She also suggests that current immigration policies are further pressuring these same categories by effectively removing a million non-native-born workers from the workforce. This combination, she believes, indicates a more fragile economic environment than widely perceived,"
Gen Z and millennials have propped up consumer spending and often function as the backbone of the post-pandemic economy. Their financial foundations are increasingly fragile due to rising costs, stagnant wages, unaffordable housing, and reduced pandemic-era benefits. Younger consumers are showing decelerating or negative spending in sectors that employ roughly 20% of the workforce, including hotels, hospitality, and retail. Immigration policy changes that remove about one million non-native-born workers are further pressuring those sectors. The combination of weaker consumption and workforce reductions could push the unemployment rate into the mid-to-high 4 percent range in the near term.
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