Ivy Leagued and Unemployed

Um, hi mom.

Did you move back home after college? Congratulations! You are part of a new recession trend!

According to the Pew Research Center, about 20 million people ages 18 to 34 live at home with their parents — roughly 30 percent of that age group. That’s up from about 18 million, or 27 percent, in 2005. Roughly one-third, or 35 percent, of boomerang kids said they had lived independently at some point in their lives but had to move back in with their parents. About half of the grown children worked full- or part-time, while 25 percent were unemployed and 20 percent were full-time students.

And here’s the kicker:

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a smaller share of 16- to 24-year-olds are currently employed — 46.1% — than at any time since the government began collecting such data in 1948.

Data released earlier this year showed that older Americans will make up virtually all of the growth in the U.S. work force in the coming years as a nearly unprecedented number hold onto jobs and younger people decide to stay in school.

So for all of us getting a slower start on our careers, paying our bills, and other trappings of the adult life, at least we know we’re not alone.

David Morrison, president and founder of Twentysomething Inc., a marketing and research firm, told the AP: “Young adults are the first to feel the brunt of a bad economy and the last to feel the benefits of a recovering economy. So the first way you hedge your bets is to minimize your expenses.”

At least the stigma of living with your parents is sort of neutralized now that everyone’s doing it.