Over the next decade, spending money on education will slow, while spending on anything pet-related will grow, according to a new study from the Conference Board.
The New York-based company released a consumer report that predicts education spending will grow just 2 percent by 2025. Pet industries, however, will surge 8 percent. The amount of students between ages 5 and 24 will not see much of a bump over the next decade. Part of the driving factor for that is the drop in fertility rates during the Great Recession, which occurred between 2007 and 2009. The pet industry’s growth is due to many millennials opting to have furkids over two-legged ones — or neither. Boomers looking to fill empty nests with the pitter-patter of four paws are expected to play a role as well. RELATED: Scottish brewery gives dog parents their day with paw-ternity leave “Dogs are the millennial baby,” 30-year-old West Village resident Mary Clapp told the New York Post. “My focus is on a promotion — not marriage or a baby,” said Sara Levenson, 28, of Hoboken, New Jersey.
According to the study, health-related industries will see the biggest growth by 2025, with 15 percent of spending expected “among the oldest households,” said Gad Levanon, one of the study’s authors and Conference Board’s chief economist in North America. Long-term care will likely see a 20 to 25 percent growth, he added.
Wanted: Pet sitters, not teachers
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