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Study Analyzes the Most Educated—and Unemployed—Generation

Study Analyzes the Most Educated—and Unemployed—Generation
2/24/2010
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Scholarships.com Staff

The country's Millennials, the 50 million or so teens and 20-somethings who are entering adulthood around the start of the new millennium, are on track to become the most educated group of individuals the country has ever seen. But they're also entering adulthood to face the largest number of unemployed and out of work people in more than 30 years.

A study released today by the Pew Research Center included new data that surveyed 2,020 adults, including 830 Millennials, to determine how future generations will look and to nail down the "Millennial Identity." The study also drew on more than two decades of Pew Research Center surveys, and was supplemented by an analysis of Census Bureau data and other relevant studies. Among the findings, a record 39.6 of Millennials were enrolled in college as of 2008.

Although the recession has greatly affected their chances of landing jobs post-graduation (22 percent of businesses report they will hire fewer college graduates than in previous years), the group remains confident and upbeat about both their chances on the job market and the economy. About nine-in-10 either say that they currently have enough money or that they will eventually meet their long-term financial goals, despite the 37 percent of Millennials who reported they were unemployed, the largest number among this age group in more than three decades.

Among other findings: 

     
  • About one-in-six aged 22 and older admitted to returning to a parent's home because of the recession.
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  • Nearly six-in-10 said that work ethic was one of the big differences between young and old workers; about three-fourths said that older people had the more impressive work ethic.
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  • Nearly one-in-four have a piercing in some place other than an earlobe, and nearly four-in-10 have a tattoo. (Of those who are tattooed, half have two to five and 18 percent have six or more.)
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  • More than eight-in-10 say they sleep with a cell phone near the bed, and nearly two-thirds admitted to texting while driving.
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  • Three-quarters have created a profile on a social networking site like Facebook or Twitter, and one-in-five have posted a video of themselves online.
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  • Two-thirds agreed that "you can't be too careful" when dealing with people, but place more trust in the federal government than previous generations.
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  • One-in-four are not affiliated with any particular religion, but responded that they pray about as often as previous generations.
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 The study also found that about 74 percent of all respondents, young and old, agreed that there was a generation gap. Most of this was related to technology use, although some was related to the state of the nation. About 41 percent of Millennials say they are satisfied with the way things are going in the country. About 26 percent of those 30 and older said the same, suggesting that the recent troubles with the economy have affected the older more than the young.

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