Gen Z Breaks Intergenerational Decline With 12% Early-Career Pay Gain

Workers born in the late 1990s earned 12% more at age 24 than millennials a decade prior, according to Resolution Foundation research published June 2026. The gain reverses a decade of decline—millennials earned 8% less than Gen X at comparable ages. Post-pandemic labour tightness and National Living Wage uplifts drove the surge, but whether Gen Z sustains the premium into their 30s remains uncertain. Income growth is forecast to decelerate sharply to 0.2% in 2026, potentially eroding early gains.