A bad economic shock in early adulthood can haunt you for the rest of your life. Graduating during a recession can mean lower earnings for decades. A bad recession can also impact your wealth. By 2019 the net worth of Americans under 35 had not recovered to where it was before the financial crisis. But the picture may not be as bleak as it looks. Some of the fall in net worth comes from more student loans, which will hopefully translate into higher earnings one day. Young people also have more financial assets than ever before, stemming from the rising stock market and larger retirement accounts. This suggests young adults went into the pandemic with more liquidity than young people did during the last recession.
Allison Schrager is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Follow her on Twitter here.
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