Half of Aussies under 30 still live with their parents

Half of all young adults under the age of 30 are still living at home with their parents — and two factors are to blame for the soaring trend.

Half of Aussies under 30 still live with their parents in a soaring trend blamed on the housing market and marriage decline.

The number of young adults aged 18 to 29 staying in the family home has jumped since the HILDA Survey began in 2001.

Young men are most likely to live with mum and dad, at 56 per cent, but young women aren’t far behind, at 54 per cent.

In 2001, just over one in three young women under 30 lived in the family home. Then, they typically moved out by the age of 22.1 years old. But, by 2017, that age had blown out by two years, to 24.2.

Ellie Davidson, 23, remains at home with her parents in Dingley Village while she works part time after study. “I’m not in a financial position to move out, it’s just not an option for me,” she said.

Terri and Stephen Davidson with daughter Ellie. Picture: Tony Gough

“None of my friends have moved out yet, so I couldn’t move in with someone I know — I don’t want to live with strangers.

“I’ve got an older brother too, he still lives with us — he’s 26 — so he has to go first.”

For young men, the average move-out age was 23.5 years, an increase on 23.1 years in 2001.

“It’s hard to know how much to attribute to their desires compared to the constraints,” lead author Prof Roger Wilkins said. “If you can’t get decent work, can’t afford housing but there’s also a desire to delay adulthood, they’re working together in the same direction.”

HILDA found those living at home were more likely to be unemployed, non-working full-time students and single.

It also found marriage rates had fallen, down to 18 per cent of young men and 28 per cent of young women.

CHILDCARE CUTTING INTO FAMILY BUDGET

More women are working and wages for females are growing while a greater dependence on childcare is cutting into the family budget.

The rate of female participation in the workforce has never been as high in the 18-year history of the annual Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey.

During 2017, 71.4 per cent of women were in work — an almost 2 per cent climb on the previous year.

But the increased rate of women in work has also coincided with a rocketing expenditure on childcare.

Each week, families are spending a median cost of $152.60 to put a preschool child in formal care.

It’s a climb of 145 per cent since 2002, when the weekly spend was $62.20 after benefit deductions.

The figures show parents are relying more on care, given the actual per hour cost has risen just 50 per cent in the same time frame.

Mum Stefanie Rossiter with her children Harry, and Edwina. Picture: Nicki Connolly

Stefanie Rossiter and husband Adam use childcare three days a week for their two children so she can work part-time as a teacher.

“I end up with an extra $200 after childcare fees, but the way we look at it, that’s the groceries,” the 34-year-old said.

“Many more women are going back to work because of the cost of living now, and wages haven’t gone up — you can’t live off one income.”

The survey showed parents had become 10 per cent more likely to use childcare, with one in two couples using the service for preschool kids, and one in five for school-aged kids.

But couples were also more likely to both be working. Two in three couples were dual earners — a rise from just over half at the turn of the century.

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Report lead author Professor Roger Wilkins said there had been a “societal shift” ­towards women with young children working, whereas a decade ago mums had typically returned to work when their children went to school.

“There has been an increase in the use of informal care too, grandparents being the classic example,” he said.

Prof Wilkins said it was no coincidence that the earnings gap between opposite-sex couples had become smaller, and that women were reporting greater work-life conflict.

Half of parents with young kids reported facing difficulty with childcare costs — a sharp rise from one in three in 2002