The ban on abortion scares away young talents: CNBC/Generation Lab investigation

America’s youngest generation of workers is willing to move away from states that ban abortion and turn down job offers in states where bans are already in place, according to a new CNBC/Generation Lab survey.

The “Youth & Money in the USA” survey of more than 1,000 people ages 18 to 34 found that nearly two-thirds of respondents, or 62 percent, would “probably not” or “definitely not” live » in a state that prohibits abortion. .

And 45 percent of respondents said that if they were offered a job in a state where abortion is illegal, they would “definitely reject” or “probably reject” the offer. 35% said they would “probably” take the job. And only 20% of those surveyed said they would definitely take the job.

“These abortion numbers have gigantic implications for almost every major American company,” said Cyrus Beschloss, CEO of The Generation Lab. “Companies need to know that they will freeze out or at least scare away a lot of the young talent they are trying to hire when they are based in one of these states.”

The 2022 Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade set off a cascade of legal challenges and legislative efforts at the state level. Over the past two years, more than 20 states have banned or restricted access to this procedure.

Yet investigations like this one from CNBC/Generation Lab suggest that banning abortion could have a profound effect on how and where the next generation of American workers choose to live. And by extension, the companies that will hire them.

The survey was conducted between April 26 and May 2 and has a margin of error of +/- 3.1%.

The survey also found that respondents had a negative view of an economy that many would consider robust.

Despite historically low unemployment rates, only 6% of respondents consider the current job market “great.” 38% of respondents said it was “satisfactory,” while 44% felt “fairly poor” was most accurate, and 11% opted for “extremely poor.”

The latest jobs report released by the US government on Friday showed that job growth slowed more in April than economists expected. But the overall unemployment rate is below 4% for the twenty-seventh consecutive month, indicating that the overall job market remains strong. That same report shows annual wage growth of 3.9% for the twelve months to April, the first time since June 2021 it has fallen below 4%.

The CNBC/Generation Lab poll also found that Americans aged 18 to 34 feel trapped by high inflation. After the Federal Reserve left rates unchanged at its last meeting, Chairman Jerome Powell said “inflation is still too high.”

Even so, the path to bringing it down is “uncertain,” Powell said at a news conference in Washington.

The survey showed that 54% of respondents believe inflation impacts them most on “the cost of food”. Rent inflation comes in second, with 22% saying this is where they feel rising prices the most, followed by discretionary spending, healthcare costs and utility bills.

High prices also emerged as a major housing concern, with 68% of respondents saying they find housing is available, but “not affordable.” Another 21% said housing was “too hard to find.”

Mortgage rates remain high, around 7.5%. These higher rates make it difficult for current owners to trade in, and the resulting lack of turnover leaves many potential first-time buyers in the lurch.

“A lot of young people are trying to buy a home, but there are serious challenges right now,” said Delano Saporu, CEO of New Street Advisors Group, a wealth management firm focused on young investors. Saporu described its clients as largely middle-income with stable employment and wages.

“The tariffs put additional pressure on customers’ budgets and limit their immediate purchasing potential,” he said. “Many are waiting and hoping that future Fed cuts will lower mortgage rates.”

Saporu and the survey found that investment enthusiasm waned after last year’s market rally. Asked by CNBC/Generation Lab pollsters how they invest their money, 42% of respondents said they are “not investing or saving at the moment.” Another 18% said they kept all their money in cash.

“The enthusiasm for buying stocks has waned,” Saporu said. “People are less optimistic about investing because the market has stopped going up so fast and so far.”

Only 17% of young people surveyed said they were currently investing in stocks.

“Over the past few years, customers might have heard about a random crypto coin or stock and wanted to get in on it, I’m seeing a lot less of that now,” Saporu said.

Two key social issues constitute important rallying cries for a large majority of respondents in this poll. The first is TikTok. President Joe Biden recently signed a bill overwhelmingly passed by Congress that could force the popular app’s Chinese owner to sell the company or face a U.S. ban.

When presented with two options for how the government should proceed with TikTok, a large majority – 70% – of respondents said it should “allow TikTok to continue operating as usual.” The remaining 30% said they would prefer the U.S. ban TikTok.

A second social problem is the growing debate over the four-day work week. In a recent exclusive interview on CNBC, New York Mets owner and Point 72 hedge fund director Steve Cohen said he thinks a four-day work week is a realistic possibility.

Among young people surveyed, 81% said they thought it would make their workplace more productive, while only 19% said productivity would suffer.

Next November’s presidential election appears to be reshaping some traditional voting patterns among young people, at least for now.

If the election were today, the CNBC and Generation Lab survey found that young voters were almost evenly split between Biden and former President Donald Trump, with just 1 percentage point separating the two — 36%. at 35% – in favor of Biden.

But in a three-candidate race, 29 percent of respondents said they would vote for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The million-dollar question with Kennedy, however, is exactly who he gets his support from.

Additionally, 40% think Trump would be more effective in managing the economy, compared to 34% for Biden and 25% for Kennedy.

Generation Lab’s Beschloss called the numbers “shocking” for Democrats.

Yet this year, the drag on lower inflation and economic pessimism could be overwhelmed by the wave of voters in favor of reproductive rights, who tend to heavily favor Democrats over Republicans.

Several states are also expected to introduce initiatives in the November elections to enshrine the right to abortion in their constitutions. Battleground Arizona and Republican-friendly Florida are among them.