Members of Generation Y in Adelaide are some of the poorest young people in the country, new research has found.

Average debts among 18 to 29-year-olds in Adelaide were higher, and their personal savings much lower, than the national average.

According to a survey of around 5000 18 to 29-year-olds by accounting company BDO and retailer Co-Op, the average personal savings of Adelaide’s young adults were $5,656 – compared with a national average of $8,271.

Adelaide’s young adults also have higher debts – $5,071 on average – than the national average of $4,599.

That leaves them with just $585 net credit – a figure much weaker than other capital cities.

The savings of Adelaide’s Gen Y are far below the national average.

Average debts among Adelaide’s Gen Y are among the highest in the country.

Moreover, the proportion of Adelaide’s 18 to 29-year-olds who save money every month – 74 per cent – is below the national average of 81 per cent.

Executive Director Youth Affairs Council of South Australia (YACSA) Anne Bainbridge said the figures were distressing, but unsurprising.

A previous YACSA survey showed that young people were finding it increasingly difficult to live week to week on their current levels of income, Bainbridge said.

“Young people reported that unless they were still living at home and able to be subsidised by their parents or if they had secured a well-paying full-time job they struggled to buy even the bare necessities of life such as rent and food,” she said.

“Youth unemployment is a huge issue for young people particularly in South Australia with the unemployment rate for 15-24 year olds sitting at 19.9 per cent.

“This is four per cent higher than the national rate.

“Add to this the increasing casualisation of employment for those young people lucky enough to find employment and we have a group of young people unable to afford even the basic necessities.”

Nationally, the survey found that 85 per cent of young people believe many of their generation will never own their own home.

Those living in the most expensive housing market, Sydney, were the most ardent about the need to buy a house, and to buy it early, whereas those in less expensive housing markets were less likely to hold that view.

The survey found that around the country, 18 to 29-year-olds were most concerned about a lack of housing affordability and, second, failing employment opportunities.

The market research program interviewed more than 5000 18 to 29-year-olds nationwide. You can read the paper here.