Rising rents mean young people are less likely to move to UK cities where average salaries are higher, a report indicates.
The number of young people in private rented accommodation who moved for a new job has almost halved in 20 years.
Despite the higher wages available, financial incentives for moving are lower, say researchers.
“Pay gains are being swallowed up by high housing costs,” said Lindsay Judge of the Resolution Foundation.
“For young people in particular, there are real advantages to moving when it comes to trying new roles and developing skills – and housing should not be a barrier that prevents them doing this.”
Although unemployment has fallen, the Resolution Foundation found that rents had climbed the fastest in higher-paying areas of the UK.
Private rents have risen by almost 90% in the UK’s highest-paying local authority areas, while rents have increased by just over 70% among the lowest-paying local authority areas.
In 1997, after housing costs were deducted from salaries, private renters moving from a low-paying area such as East Devon to a mid-paying area such as Bristol would have received an average financial gain of about 16%.
Today, the financial gain would be a mere 1%.
Of course, millennials and the so-called “Generation Z” have other reasons for not moving apart from money.
Some people prefer to live near to their parents and friends, while others might find it harder to relocate because of their children
