Number of Adults Living with Parents Exploding

In Huffington Post, the number of adults living with their parents in the United States has exploded. It's a difficult world for college graduates to start their careers. Inreasing cost of living, low entry-level salaries, growing scarcity of full-time jobs (with benefits), and high student loan debt are common barriers. For many new social workers and information professionals, these are very important things to consider once we graduate with our master's degrees.

Empty nest parents, be warned: the number of adults aged 25 to 34 who are living with their parents has exploded, according to this rather shocking chart put together by economist Tom Lawler and posted on Calculated Risk.

Earlier this year, a study published in the journal Transitions to Adulthood titled "What's Going on with Young People Today? The Long and Twisting Path to Adulthood" concluded that the economic downturn has caused an entire generation to delay adulthood.As ScienceDaily summarized the study: "In 1969, only about 10 percent of men in their early thirties had wages that were below poverty level. By 2004, the share had more than doubled. Overall, the share of young adults in 2005 living in poverty was higher than the national average."

I feel for these college graduates. When I graduated from college, I moved in with my parents because my weekly earnings at my previous job were not enough for me to live on my own. I did not move out until I began graduate school in a different city. This was several years ago, but I imagine the situation is much worse now.