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Los Angeles Times: Millennials Stand on Shakier Financial Ground than Older Generations

December 4, 2014

California's millennials experience greater unemployment, earn less money and are far more likely to still be living with their parents than young adults from earlier generations, according to a new comprehensive analysis by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Officials examined how young adults ages 18 through 34 have fared in the aftermath of the Great Recession and found economic distress both nationally and in California.

Only 62% of young adults in California were employed in the last five years, down from 71% a generation ago.

"Let's say you're a kid out of college and your first job, you're getting paid $40,000 a year," said Richard Green, director of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate. "You want to live in a safe neighborhood in Los Angeles, with decent access to jobs, transit, et cetera. You're looking at $1,400 to $1,500 a month in rent. So that means you're paying $18,000 a year out of your $40,000 just in rent."

Add up student debt, taxes, car payments and gas — "You put that all together, it's really hard to save," he said.

For those who worked, millennials saw median earnings slide back from 1980, falling from about $37,000 to $35,700 in 2013 inflation-adjusted dollars.