Derek Thompson

Invading Iran for some reason happens in the world.

And so all these things together are causing employers to just hold on for dear life and drive down the hiring of entry-level workers.

That's important.

The third thing that's happening, we talked about AI, talked about the big freeze.

I think we have to talk about demographics.

Because people are living longer.

People are working longer.

Modern jobs are physically easier than they used to be.

Easier than, you know, construction, manufacturing, farming, taking up, you know, whatever, 50% of the economy like it did in the early 20th century.

Is the aging of the workforce another factor that you think is reducing employment for young people?

Yeah, when you showed me that paper, it made me think about a couple of things.

One is, I think sometimes young people are blamed, I think blame is the right word, for delaying adulthood.

They're choosing to stay single longer.

They're choosing to delay marriage.

They're choosing to delay having a kid.

They're choosing to delay buying that first home.

They're going to school for longer.

They're extending their adolescence into their 20s.

This paper is saying, yeah, okay, maybe some of that is happening, but also their peak earning years are being materially and mechanically pulled into a later period of their life.

That's not something that young people are choosing at all.