Millennials Continue to be Hit by Recession

Yipee... Another batch of news about the Millennial Generation struggling for jobs and being in debt. Not only does Reuters below talk about the stats FM readers know well - but a piece in AOL Jobs says that age discrimination is more likely to protect people over 40 than people under 30. Add to that a piece CNN run yesterday on the increase in student loan debt some Millennials are carrying.

Reuters:

"All of us know people who still bear the marks of their distinctive coming-of-age experiences: the grandmother raised during the Depression who reuses her tea bags; the child of the Cold War who favors an assertive national security policy; the uncle who grew up in the 1960s and sports a pony tail," said a recent study of Gen Y by the prestigious Pew Research Center.

"We don't yet know which formative experiences the millennials will carry forward throughout their life cycle."

AOL Jobs:

"No age group is immune to the fever of downsizing and and layoffs that has swept the country over the last few years, but the generation that is hardest hit will probably surprise you. Despite all the news you hear about older, more experienced, more expensive workers being let go, the generation suffering the most job losses is the Millennial generation, or those who have entered the work place since 1999, give or take a few years. . .

Do the math, and you find unemployment rates for younger workers have increased 4.7 percentage points, while unemployment rates for older workers have only risen 2.9 percentage points. Why? It goes on beyond the last-hired, first-fired syndrome. It seems that many employers are terrified of age-related lawsuits.

If you thought laws against age discrimination protect everyone, you would be, in a word, wrong. The Age Discrimination Employment Act that was passed in 1967 and still holds, only protects, "individuals who are 40 years of age or older from employment discrimination based on age." Some states have passed additional, more all-encompassing age discrimination laws, but legally, those over 40 are far better protected."

Via CNN: