I truly believe a lot of young people have just given up. It’s too expensive to buy a starter home in a lot of America and a lot of people can’t afford to have kids so the need to work really hard just isn’t there.
Having employment also doesn’t mean you’re a good worker. People have just given up. They’ll leave a job on a whim, quiet quit, etc
In my line of business, entry level pays about $90K. A person who makes manager in six years after that is making $160K+.
Guess what, most of these people aren’t settling down and buying houses. They are blowing cash on expensive dinners and vacations.
I think it’s more cultural. Some of these kids these days don’t want to sacrifice a high end lifestyle to invest and grow a family. They’ll end up paying the piper foe those decisions soon enough.