Abortion bans drive away up to half of young talent, new CNBC/Generation Lab youth survey finds

The
youngest
generation
of
American
workers
is
prepared
to
move
away
from
states
that
pass
abortion
bans
and
to
turn
down
job
offers
in
states
where
bans
are
already
in
place,
a

new
survey
from
CNBC/Generation
Lab
finds.

The
“Youth
&
Money
in
the
USA”
survey
of
1,033
people
between
the
ages
of
18
and
34
found
that
almost
two-thirds
of
respondents,
62%,
would “probably
not”
or “definitely
not”
live
in
a
state
that
banned
abortion.

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

“These
numbers
on
abortion
have
gigantic
implications
for
just
about
every
large
company
in
America,”
said
Cyrus
Beschloss,
the
CEO
of
The
Generation
Lab. “Companies
must
know
they’ll
be
freezing
out
or
at
least
scaring
a
large
part
of
the
young
talent
they’re
trying
to
hire
when
they’re
based
in
one
of
these
states.”

The
Supreme
Court’s
2022
ruling
that
overturned
Roe
v.
Wade
set
off
a
cascade
of
legal
challenges
and
legislative
efforts
at
the
state
level.
In
the
past
two
years, more
than
20
states have
either
banned
or
restricted
access
to
the
procedure.

Yet
findings
like
these
suggest
that
state
abortion
bans
could
have
a
profound
effect
on
how
and
where
the
next
generation
of
American
workers
will
live.
And
by
extension,
on
the
companies
that
will
hire
them.

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

The
survey
also
found
that
respondents
had
a
negative
opinion
of
an

economy
many
would
consider
robust.

Despite
historically
low

jobless
rates,
only
6%
of
those
polled
consider
the
current
job
market
to
be “great.”
Another
38%
said
it
is “satisfactory,”
while
44%
felt “pretty
bad”
was
most
accurate,
and
11%
opted
for “extremely
bad.” 
 

The

latest
employment
report
released
by
the
U.S.
government
last
Friday
showed
job
growth
slowed
more
in
April
than
economists
had
been
expecting.
But
the
overall
unemployment
rate
is
under
4%
for
the
twenty-seventh
straight
month,
indicating
the
overall
job
market
is
still
strong. That
same
report
showed
annual
wage
growth
at
3.9%
for
the
twelve
months
through
April,
the
first
time
since
June
2021
it
has
fallen
below
4%.

The
CNBC/Generation
Lab
poll
also
found
that
Americans
between
18
and
34
years
old
feel
trapped
in
the
grip
of
high
inflation.
After
the
Federal
Reserve
left

rates
unchanged
at
its
most
recent
meeting,
Chairman
Jerome
Powell
said “inflation
is
still
too
high.”

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

The
survey
showed
that
54%
of
respondents
feel
inflation
impacts
them
the
most
in “the
cost
of
food.”
Rent
inflation
came
in
second,
with
22%
saying
that’s
where
they
most
feel
higher
prices,
followed
by
discretionary
spending,
health-care
costs
and
utility
bills.

High
prices
also
showed
up
as
a
major
concern
when
it
comes
to
housing,
with
68%
of
those
surveyed
saying
they
find
housing
is
available,
but “not
affordable.”
An
additional
21%
said
housing
is “too
hard
to
find.” 

Mortgage
rates
remain
elevated,
in
the
7.5%
range.
Those
higher
rates
make
it
difficult
for
current
homeowners
to
trade
up,
and
the
resulting
lack
of
turnover
leaves
many
potential
first-time
buyers
out
in
the
cold.

“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
younger
investors.
Saporu
described
his
clients
as
largely
middle
income
with
a
steady
job
and
salary.

“Rates
are
putting
extra
pressure
on
client
budgets
and
limiting
their
potential
to
buy
now,”
he
said. “Many
are
waiting
and
hoping
future
Fed
cuts
will
bring
mortgage
rates
down.”

Both
Saporu
and
the
poll
found
that
enthusiasm
for
investing
has
waned
after
last
year’s
market
run.
Asked
by
CNBC/Generation
Lab
pollsters
how
they
invest
their
money,
42%
of
respondents
said
they
are “not
investing
or
saving
right
now.” Another
18%
said
they
keep
all
of
their
money
in
cash. 

“The
excitement
over
buying
stocks
has
deflated,”
said
Saporu. “People
are
less
optimistic
about
investing
as
the
market
has
stopped
running
up
so
far
and
so
fast.”

Only
17%
of
young
people
in
the
survey
said
they
are
currently
investing
in
stocks.

“Over
the
last
few
years
clients
may
have
heard
about
some
random
crypto
coin
or
stock
and
wanted
in,
I’m
seeing
a
lot
less
of
that
now,”
said
Saporu.

Two
key
social
issues
are
prominent
rallying
cries
for
a
large
majority
of
respondents
in
this
poll.
The
first
is
TikTok. President
Joe
Biden

recently
signed
a
bill
passed
overwhelmingly
by
Congress
that
could
force
the
popular
app’s
Chinese
owner
to
sell
the
company
or
face
a
U.S.
ban.

Offered
two
options
of
how
the
government
should
proceed
with
TikTok,
a
large
majority
—
70%
—
of
survey
respondents
said
it
should “allow
TikTok
to
keep
operating
as
usual.”
The
other
30%
said
they
would
prefer
the
U.S.
ban
TikTok.

A
second
social
issue
is
the
growing
debate
over
a
four-day
workweek.
In
a
recent
exclusive
interview
on
CNBC,
the
owner
of
the
New
York
Mets
and
head
of
the
hedge
fund
Point
72,
Steve
Cohen,
said
he
believed
a
four-day
workweek
was
a
realistic
possibility. 

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

The
coming
November
presidential
election
appears
to
be
reshaping
some
traditional
youth
voting
patterns,
at
least
for
now.

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

But
in
a
three-candidate
race,
a
whopping
29%
of
respondents
said
they
would
vote
for
Robert
F.
Kennedy
Jr.

Yet
it’s
unclear
at
this
point
in
the
presidential
race
exactly
who
Kennedy’s
candidacy
threatens
most,
Biden
or
Trump.
Recent
polling
suggests
that
Kennedy,
a
vaccine
skeptic
from
a
Democratic
dynasty,
may
in
fact
be

pulling
more
support
away
from
Trump
than
he
does
from
Biden.

What’s
more,
40%
of
respondents
believe
Trump
would
be
more
effective
in
handling
the
economy,
compared
with
34%
for
Biden
and
25%
for
Kennedy.

Generation
Lab’s
Beschloss
called
those
numbers “jarring”
for
Democrats.

Yet
this
year,
the
downward
drag
of
inflation
and
economic
pessimism
could
be
overwhelmed
by
a
massive
wave
of
reproductive
rights
voters,
who
tend
to
break
sharply
for
Democrats
at
the
ballot
box.

Several
states
are
also
expected
to
have
initiatives
on
the
ballot
in
November
that
would
enshrine
abortion
rights
into
their
constitutions.
Battleground
Arizona
and
Republican-friendly
Florida
are
two
places
wheere
these
initiatives
could
energize
Democratic
voters.