Economic Progress

You knew things weren't great for millennials, but this is just how bad

A woman reads a book at her open air book store in Skopje April 24, 2014. Macedonians will cast their ballots on Sunday April 27 in the second round of the presidential vote, overshadowed by the general elections. Macedonian voters look likely to hand conserva

Millennials are worse off than the generation before, according to research. Image: REUTERS

Lucinda Shen
Writer, Business Insider
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Economic Progress

Are millennials better off than their parents were at the same age? A new analysis suggests they aren't.

Advocacy group the Young Invincibles looked at the income, assets, net wealth, home ownership, and retirement savings of millennials and boomers when they were around the same age in a Friday reported based on data from the Federal Reserve.

The report found that millennials—15 to 34-year-olds in 2013—were worth roughly half as much as the boomer generation and are earning about 20% less in comparison to young adults in 1989. While millennials earned $40,581 on average in 2013, members of the boomer generation earned $50,910 annually in 1989.

Meanwhile, young adults with debt and a degree in 2013 earned roughly the same as those who had no degree at all in 1989: $50,000.

The lower number on the paycheck has also materialized in the form of a lower net worth. While Millennials are worth about $10,900, the Boomers were worth $25,035 at the same age.The lower number on the paycheck has also materialized in the form of a lower net worth.

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Image: Young Invincibles

“These findings uncover that millennials have been set back significantly, by not just the Great Recession but by decades-long financial trends, resulting in major generational declines in financial security between millennials and baby boomers when they were the same age,” said Tom Allison, deputy director of policy and research for Young Invincibles.

The results of the analysis also don't bode well for the economic health of the nation, Allison continued.

“Millennials make up the greatest share of the workforce and the largest generation in history, so in many ways the situation facing young adults today forecasts the financial challenges ahead for the nation,” he said.

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