YouGov’s latest Household Economic Activity Tracker (HEAT) Index shows that economic confidence among 18-34 year olds is at its highest level since March 2010.
The data reveals that among young people YouGov’s HEAT Index increased by 4 points in May 2013. Any score of over 100 means more people are positive than negative so the score of 112 among 18-34 year olds shows there are strong levels of confidence among the group.
The research indicates that young people are increasingly less worried about unemployment, with increasing numbers of 18-34 year olds thinking their jobs are more secure than a month ago. The research shows that young people’s job security went into the black for the first-time since YouGov started measuring it in 2009 and now stands at 103. Additionally, the number of young people looking to make a major purchase increased strongly in May, leaping from 81 to 87 – its second highest level in the four years HEAT has been running.
The headline HEAT Index figure increased to 103 in May 2013 – an improvement of 3 points. This is the third month in a row that the Index score has been above 100, the first time this has happened since June 2010.
Stephen Harmston, Head of SixthSense at YouGov, said: “The economic improvement we have seen over the past few months has now spread to young people. It has been more than three years since they were this confident and this boost is driven by greatly increased levels of job security. With the overall Index number over 100 for the third month in a row, the surge in confidence among younger consumers is yet more evidence that the economic cloud is lifting just in time for summer.”
