Ever since the economic recession of 2007-2008, a rise in multi-generational families is occurring in the Unites States.
According to the Census Bureau, the percentage of millennial’s (18 to 34 years-old), 30.3 percent are living with a parent.
CNSNNews.com reached out to Veronique de Rugy, who is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center, to get some insight into why this is happening.
““Millennials are taking a big hit in this economy,” said de Rugy. “Recessions are always rough on younger people, but this one has been particularly rough. The recovery has been so slow, and it’s also been kind of slow on the labor market side of things.
“For instance, the recession hit when some millennials were just getting out of college and so they went straight into the unemployment line. And then when they were lucky enough to get a job, usually there was a lot of underemployment going on, meaning not necessarily full-time and part-time jobs but also at lower salary than they would otherwise,” she said.
“The other thing that’s been really rough for them is the fact that during the recession and the slow recovery, the number of older workers that actually quit their jobs to get a better position, was down quite significantly, and unfortunately, I mean this is a bad thing, because this is one of the ways that first you measure the health of the labor market, but also this is one of the ways that younger workers go up the job ladder,” de Rugy added.
“And when you actually have few options because people are worried and won’t quit their jobs for better opportunities either because they’re risk averse or because those opportunities do not exist, it means that you are stuck at lower positions without being given the opportunity to go out. So it’s a problem,” she said.”
With the stagnant economy, the price of rent does not help matter any.
In a Yahoo! Finance article, How much you need to make per hour to afford a rental in the U.S., by Mandi Woodruff, in May 2015, points out this alarming information.
“A worker would need to earn $19.35 per hour — nearly three times the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 — to be able to afford a basic two-bedroom unit. A one-bedroom unit is only slightly less costly, requiring a wage of at least $15.50 an hour. The average renter nationwide makes $15.16 an hour, which might explain why so many adults are leaning on roommates these days. (The report, which uses Fair Market Rent figures determined by Department of Housing and Urban Development, sets one-bedroom units at $806 and two-bedrooms at $1,006.)”
In the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, “Out Reach Report,” it gives the break down of what one person has to earn to rent a one and two bedroom apartment in each state.
The full report can be read at, http://www.nlihc.org/sites/default/files/oor/OOR_2015_FULL.pdf, since it is to long to reproduce.
But, here are the top ten most expense states for rent for a two-bedroom housing wage:
- Hawaii- $31.61
- District of Columbia- $28.04
- California- $26.65
- New York- $25.67
- New Jersey- $25.17
In the forward to the report, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown had this to say.
“Those who put more than half their income towards rent are forced to choose which bills they can pay, which necessities, food or healthcare, they will forgo to avoid getting evicted or becoming homeless,” she says. “More must be done to ensure families have the option to live in decent, affordable homes located near their jobs.”
As if the aforementioned news was not gloomy enough.
Here are some statistics http://www.usdebtclock.org/, and some of this maybe alarming if you did not know:
U.S. Population- 322,223,650
U.S. Work Force- 149,260,542
Official Unemployed- 7,827,307
Actual Unemployed- 15,193,847
U.S. National Debt- Over 18 trillion and counting.
U.S. Total Debt – Over 66 trillion and counting.
Student Loan Debt- Over 1 trillion and counting.
Also its important to make the distinction between official unemployed and actual unemployed, which can be read in the below article written in February of 2015, by Chairman and Gallup CEO, Jim Clifton.
“The Big Lie: 5.6% Unemployment
by Jim Clifton
Here’s something that many Americans — including some of the smartest and most educated among us — don’t know: The official unemployment rate, as reported by the U.S. Department of Labor, is extremely misleading.
Right now, we’re hearing much celebrating from the media, the White House and Wall Street about how unemployment is “down” to 5.6%. The cheerleading for this number is deafening. The media loves a comeback story, the White House wants to score political points and Wall Street would like you to stay in the market.
None of them will tell you this: If you, a family member or anyone is unemployed and has subsequently given up on finding a job — if you are so hopelessly out of work that you’ve stopped looking over the past four weeks — the Department of Labor doesn’t count you as unemployed. That’s right. While you are as unemployed as one can possibly be, and tragically may never find work again, you are not counted in the figure we see relentlessly in the news — currently 5.6%. Right now, as many as 30 million Americans are either out of work or severely underemployed. Trust me, the vast majority of them aren’t throwing parties to toast “falling” unemployment.
There’s another reason why the official rate is misleading. Say you’re an out-of-work engineer or healthcare worker or construction worker or retail manager: If you perform a minimum of one hour of work in a week and are paid at least $20 — maybe someone pays you to mow their lawn — you’re not officially counted as unemployed in the much-reported 5.6%. Few Americans know this.
Yet another figure of importance that doesn’t get much press: those working part time but wanting full-time work. If you have a degree in chemistry or math and are working 10 hours part time because it is all you can find — in other words, you are severely underemployed — the government doesn’t count you in the 5.6%. Few Americans know this.
There’s no other way to say this. The official unemployment rate, which cruelly overlooks the suffering of the long-term and often permanently unemployed as well as the depressingly underemployed, amounts to a Big Lie.
And it’s a lie that has consequences, because the great American dream is to have a good job, and in recent years, America has failed to deliver that dream more than it has at any time in recent memory. A good job is an individual’s primary identity, their very self-worth, their dignity — it establishes the relationship they have with their friends, community and country. When we fail to deliver a good job that fits a citizen’s talents, training and experience, we are failing the great American dream.
Gallup defines a good job as 30+ hours per week for an organization that provides a regular paycheck. Right now, the U.S. is delivering at a staggeringly low rate of 44%, which is the number of full-time jobs as a percent of the adult population, 18 years and older. We need that to be 50% and a bare minimum of 10 million new, good jobs to replenish America’s middle class.
I hear all the time that “unemployment is greatly reduced, but the people aren’t feeling it.” When the media, talking heads, the White House and Wall Street start reporting the truth — the percent of Americans in good jobs; jobs that are full time and real — then we will quit wondering why Americans aren’t “feeling” something that doesn’t remotely reflect the reality in their lives. And we will also quit wondering what hollowed out the middle class.”
With the stagnant economy, The Federal Reserve printing more money and devaluing our currency, rising student loan debt, was well as the baby boomer generation retiring, only time will tell if multi-generational households will exponentially become the norm.
Lastly, if you are one whom lives in a multi-generational home and being judged (and I live in a multi-generational home and have been judged, even though I pay my own bills, pay rent and have a college degree) I would encourage you to inform the person of the stats.
falseempowerment 