Study: 1.2 million households lost to recession
msnbc.com
By John W. Schoen
..."Given the depth of the downturn in 2009, and the ongoing weakness in the job market through the beginning of this year, this study gives no reason to expect that household formation has picked up at all," said Gary Painter, a professor at the University of Southern California who conducted the study.
The study also shed some light on what happens to the people in those "lost" households. It's widely assumed that many who lose a home to foreclosure become renters. But since the recession began, there has been a five-fold increase in "overcrowding" of remaining households — defined as more than one person per room, according to the study.
That doubling-up is happening as families who lose their homes move in with friends or family. In other cases, younger people have delayed moving out on their own, instead staying with their parents until the economy improves. Others who fail to find work after graduating from college move back home...