Abortion bans drive away young talent: New CNBC/Generation Lab survey

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…