Generation Z puts life on hold: salaries do not give independence

Generation Z increasingly unable to get back on their feet financially. Low incomes, expensive rent and unstable jobs force young people to depend on their parents and delay adulthood.

According to Wells Fargo Money Study 2026near 64% parents with Generation Z children aged from 18 to 28 years old claim that their adult children still depend on them financially for money, housing or other support.

More than half of these parents 56%admit: such assistance is already hitting their own budget. That is, the youth crisis automatically becomes a family crisis. Parents drag adult children, children cannot go out into independent life, and the economy pretends that this is just a “new model of growing up.”

Almost half of the representatives Gen Z, 46%describes his financial situation as “chaotic”. Many people put off moving, marriage, education, changing jobs or career plans. There is an adult life, but no money was given for it.

The Greek picture is even harsher

IN Greece the situation looks particularly alarming. According to the study Ινστιτούτο Εργασίας της ΓΣΕΕ (Institute of Labor GSEE, ΙΝΕ/ΓΣΕΕ) “Νέοι και Εργασία 2025”only 20% young workers live independently.

More 45% continue to live with their family. Among young people in part-time work, this figure rises to 65%. This is not “Greek family”, but ordinary poverty with a home address.

Near 30% young people live with a friend or partner. Only 30% participate in paying rent or housing expenses. For most, a separate apartment remains not a normal part of growing up, but a luxury.

Income is not enough even for basic needs

The main figure of the study is 70% young people in Greece say their income is not enough to cover basic needs. More 62% admit that they continue to be financially dependent on their parents.

The problem is not just rent. Young people face low wages, underemployment, professional burnout, psychological fatigue and a weak connection between education and the real labor market.

Study ΙΝΕ/ΓΣΕΕ also indicates low satisfaction with career prospects and increased readiness to emigrate. And this is not only a question of personal budget, but of the future of the country.

Parents as the last support system

Financial advisors admit that helping parents into their mid-twenties and beyond has become common practice. She helps young people finish their studies, cope with rent and avoid falling into debt.

But there should be such support plannot a way of life. If a young man has to constantly live at the expense of his parents, then the problem is not in the family. The problem is in the economy, where salaries do not allow paying for independence.

An additional symptom is sources of financial information. Almost 44% representatives Gen Z looking for money tips on YouTube, 34% – V Instagram or TikTok, 25% – in online communities. When the economy is complex and there is little proper financial education, people with a ring lamp begin to look for advice. Great plan, what could go wrong.

Life deferred

The main result is life deferred. Young people move out from their parents later, start families later, have children later, change jobs later, and think more often about emigrating.

This is not a minor social problem for the state. This is a blow to demographics, the labor market, consumption and trust in the political system. A young person who works but cannot live independently quickly loses faith in stories about economic growth.

Editorial comment

It is convenient to accuse Generation Z of immaturity. But the numbers tell a different story: Greece young people do not give up independence – they often simply cannot pay for it.

When 70% young people do not have enough income for basic needs, and 62% depend on parents, this is no longer a personal weakness. This is a failure of the labor market, housing policy and the state, which for too long pretended that the family would survive everything.

If the country wants young people to stay, work, start families and build a future, it needs not slogans, but normal wages, affordable housing and jobs. Otherwise Gen Z will not grow up, but wait until adult life finally becomes affordable.

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