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It’s official: being a young adult in Canada is tougher than it used to be

There are a countless number of songs, poems and books about how great it is to be young.

Middle and senior-aged Canadians, across the country, often yearn for the good old days.

"How great would it be to be 21 again," you might hear one say.

Well, maybe being young isn't such a good thing anymore.

A new analysis — by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives — adds to the growing number of recent surveys, studies and reports highlighting how difficult life is for 18 to 30 year olds.

This one is about university tuition rates.

According to the report, released on Tuesday, the average annual undergraduate tuition fee in Canada has skyrocketed from $551 in 1975 to $5,772 in 2013.

A more telling statistic, however, is the number of hours necessary for a student to work, at minimum wage, in order to pay for their own schooling.

As explained by CBC News, a student in 1975 only needed to work 230 minimum-wage hours to pay for their post-secondary education. Today, students need to work at least 570 hours.

[ Related: Canada's gender pay gap is getting worse, new report shows ]

The 'high' tuition rates are invariably leading to record historically high student debt levels, according to the Canadian Federation of Students.

"Skyrocketing tuition fees and the prevalence of loan-based financial assistance have pushed student debt to historic levels," notes the organization's website.

"This past year, almost 425,000 students were forced to borrow in order to finance their education. The aggregate of loans disbursed by the Canada Student Loans Program, less the aggregate of loan repayments received is resulting in student debt increasing by $1 million per day."

According to a 2013 BMO Annual Student Survey, 86 per cent Canadian students expect to graduate with debt with 21 per cent expecting a debt load of more than $40,000.

And of course, that's not the only debt young people are going to be saddled with.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation recently launched a new initiative — aptly named Generation Screwed — warning young Canadians about the impending fiscal cliff that they're ultimately going to be responsible for.

"Past generations voted to spend more and more money expanding entitlements and the size of government," notes their website.

"They are handing the next generation the bill."

[ Related: Jason Kenney looks to Germany for help at curbing Canada’s youth unemployment rate ]

The story of young peoples' lot in life gets worse: youth unemployment rates across the country are dismal.

Our youth unemployment rate is about 14 per cent and, if you include youth up to age 30, there are approximately 904,000 Canadians not in employment, education or training.

And those who have jobs aren't very confident about the future.

Here are some of the highlights — or low-lights, if you will — of a recent Abacus Data/Broadbent Institute survey about millennials' collective fears about the future.

- Overall, 41 per cent of millennials are worried that their generation will be able to pay enough tax to support their parents' social programs

- 38 per cent of millenials with university degrees believe that their economic opportunities are worse than those of their parents.

- 60 per cent of millienials think the gap between rich and poor will grow over their life with only 16 per cent thinking it will shrink.

- Only one-third of millienials are "certain" that they will own a home at retirement

Let's face it: being young isn't what it used to be.

(Photo courtesy Reuters)

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