Recessions hits young adults, creates “boomerangers”

by Baylie Evans

CHEYENNE — A recent study found that the current recession has hit young adults hard enough to significantly change the way many of them are living.

They’ve been dubbed “boomerangers,” the study says, and they’re a growing population: young adults who have moved back in with family, chosen to live with roommates instead of alone or have put off big life decisions until more stable times.

Across the nation, fewer young people ages 16-24 are employed than since 1948, when the government began tracking such numbers. Only 46 percent of that age group is employed.

The study used data from an annual study by the Census Bureau, which is conducted each March, as well as a nationally representative survey of 1,028 adults by the Pew Research Center, which was conducted last October.

Although Wyoming doesn’t appear to track such specific statistics as unemployment rates based on age groups, some say the state is experiencing similar trends.

“This is because, similar to other states, Wyoming is now in an economic recession,” Amy Bittner, a Wyoming state economist, said. “Since 2006, Wyoming’s average household size has increased. This is counter to what has occurred in previous years, where the average household size had been declining.”

Combined with record-high college enrollment rates, the trend could help explain why fewer young people are living alone than ever before, the study says.

It found that 24 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds nationally moved in with a roommate due to the recession, and 6 percent moved back in with parents.

Of 25- to 34-year-olds, 11 percent moved back in with parents.

The change is most noticeable for young women 18 to 29 who live alone. That rate dropped a full percentage point since 2007, to just more than 6 percent in 2009. The percent change for young men was not statistically significant.

The recession has posed tough decisions for young adults in other ways too. Fifteen percent of 18- to 34-year-olds reported postponing getting married because of the recession, and 14 percent have postponed having a baby.

This trend could have a mixed effect on the Wyoming economy, Bittner said.

While more unemployed young adults have less money to spend, moving back home might mean their parents spend more money or delay retirement to support them. Still, their parents could spend less on vacations, restaurants or other entertainment.

It’s also possible that the pattern will bring a slight benefit to the Wyoming labor force.

“Typically, Wyoming has lost its younger educated workers to jobs in other states,” Bittner said. “With the economic recession, these educated young adults might be moving back to Wyoming, creating a more educated Wyoming labor force.”

Joan Evans, the director of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, said it makes sense that the unemployment rate for young people has risen.

Wyoming has experienced that trend, she added, even though it doesn’t collect the particular data needed to support the claim.

There is a program at the department to help young adults, 14- to 21-year-olds who come from low-income families, find work, she said. That program has seen a 30 percent increase in cases.

She attributed that increase both to increased funding and an increase in need for help in finding work for young people in the state.

“Right now, everyone’s looking for an opportunity, and they’re harder to find,” she said.

Older adults also are snatching up jobs that may have formerly gone to younger adults like retail, fast food and grocery store jobs.

The local office reported only about 50 job openings in Cheyenne, she added. Usually there are about 200 at this time of year.

“That gives you an idea of how opportunities have shrunk substantially,” she said.

article source: Wyoming Tribune Eagle; WyomingNews.com

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