The Recession of 2008 slowed our economy to a crawl and also produced significant societal changes. High unemployment among young adults aged 16 to 29 produced the biggest impact on the American way of life, followed by increased immigration and the resulting increase in the poverty rate. The 2010 Census revealed some landmark changes since World War II and these changes were highlighted by Hope Yen in an article for the Associated Press and picked up by MSNBC.COM.
Young adults in the 16 to 29 age group are suffering the highest unemployment rate of all groups in the country. Richard Freeman, an economist at Harvard University, calls them the “lost generation” with nearly a 1 in 5 chance of living in poverty. They are postponing marriage, not buying homes, and not moving out of state in order to live at home with their parents. Last year 5.9 million Americans 25?34 lived with their parents, an increase of 25 percent from before the recession. When the job market does improve they will be competing with a new crop of graduates. Stale credentials and lack of employment in the interim or underemployment in menial jobs will put them at a disadvantage.
Men are twice as likely to live at home with parents than women. They are putting off responsibilities of marriage and home ownership until their 30s. Ethnic data reveals 31 percent of young black men represent the largest group living at home with parents compared to 21 percent of young Latino men and 15 percent of young white men. Expensive states like New Jersey, New York and Hawaii had the highest overall percentages while the Midwest had the lowest number of young adults living at home. Metropolitan areas of Charlotte, NC, Jacksonville, FL, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Detroit lead the nation in lost jobs due to the housing bust, budget deficits or loss of industries like banking and manufacturing. Older Americans in the 65+ age group have the highest number in the workforce since the 1960s when Social Security and Medicare made retirement more attractive.
Immigrants, usually low-skilled labor from Latin America and Asia, account for around 40 million or 12.9 percent of the population. This is the largest share since 1920. Of the 40 million it is estimated that 11.2 million immigrants are here illegally. Whether legal or illegal the foreign- born sector of society cannot be ignored as they should be a functioning part of our economy.
As expected, the poverty numbers have increased across the board. More children than ever before are living in poverty, especially in California, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona and Nevada. The ethnic breakdown is 37 percent for Hispanics, 30 percent for whites and 27 percent for blacks. Households with single mothers total 1 in 4 families. More families than ever before rely on government aid, approximately 1 in every 8. The food stamp roll has increased by 2 million to a total of 13.6 million, mostly families with children.
Our young adults, immigrants and the impoverished have been transformed by the recession that seems to go on forever. As we move forward, the solutions will take into account these changes to best prepare our labor force for the future.
Page Perry, is an Atlanta-based law firm with over 150 years of collective experience representing investors in securities-related litigation and arbitration. Page Perry’s attorneys are actively involved in counseling institutional and individual investors. For further information, please contact us.