Their employment prospects are dim, their debt is high, their lives are on hold and a stunning number are living with their parents, even into their 30s. They are young adults, 18 to 34, struggling to begin their adult lives during the worst economy since the Great Depression, and they risk becoming a lost generation, according to an extensive new study released Wednesday by two advocacy groups.
While begun long before the "Occupy Wall Street" movement, the research may help explain why so many young people are taking part in the protests.
Some data unearthed by the study by the advocacy groups Demos and The Young Invincibles, which combined an independent telephone poll with U.S. Census Bureau data, is stark and stunning. Rent is taking up nearly 33 percent more of young adults’ income than a decade ago -- at least for those who have their own place. But nearly 20 percent live with their parents. They are postponing buying a home, having children, even getting married.
Despite accumulating historic piles student loan debt, nearly 50 percent aren't working in their chosen field. That might suggest college is a waste of time, but young adult men who hold a high school degree earn only 75 percent of what their high-school-educated fathers did, creating an educational Catch-22.
While government underemployment data tells a sobering story – that 16.5 percent of U.S. adults don’t have a job, are being forced to take part-time work or have given up looking for work -- it may markedly understate the problem for young adults. About 60 percent of working young adults questioned by pollsters said they wish they could work more hours for more pay, likely offering a much better approximation of underemployment.
"A lot of the findings in this report could have cause serious economic scarring going forward," said Lauren Strayer, a spokeswoman for New York-based Demos, a non-partisan think tank that says it promotes economic equality and democratic values. “People who have no hope for the future don't plan for it.”
The report, “Young America: Economic Barriers to the American Dream,” was released Wednesday to highlight the groups’ year-long effort to focus attention to economic issues facing young people.
