BC Business
Gen Z is high-key moving into B.C.'s workforce. Here's how they're faring.
This year’s 30 Under 30 may have the world by the tail, but how are their age-group peers (the Gen Zers of B.C.) doing in the workforce? These statistics provide some clues.
People under 30 occupied 24.1% of all jobs across Canada in 2022. The workforce participation rate of 15-to-24-year-olds declined 5.3% year over year in October.
Based on responses to the 2021 census, the average total income of British Columbians aged 20-24 was $26,520. For aged 25-29, it was $44,400. Men aged 20-24 made $28,040 and women $23,600. Men aged 25-29 earned $48,120 and women $40,600. The top one percent averaged $90,000 in the younger cohort and $144,000 in the older group.
According to Canada Revenue Agency tax filings, the average single person aged 25-34 in B.C. made $46,030 in 2022. The average single-parent family in that age group grossed $38,760 and the average two-adult family with the oldest member aged 25-34 made $95,830. By comparison, the all-age average for couple families was $108,570; single parents averaged $59,020 and single people averaged $36,930.
Return-to-office mandates are unpopular among all demographics, but most of all among young workers. In a 2023 poll, 39% of those aged 18-34 in B.C. who worked at home during the pandemic reported switching jobs since 2020 to work from home more often.
Sources: Statistics Canada, BC Stats, Statista, Research Co.