The term
boomerang generation refers to the phenomenon of young adults who return home to live with their parents, after living independently for a brief period. The trend has been likened with the throw tool boomerang, because of the frequency with which today's young adults are returning home. The recent years have seen a massive influx in the number of graduates returning to the security of their parental homes, because of the serious dearth of jobs and to avoid sky-high rents and lowered standard of living.
✦ According to Pew, 29% of parents who were interviewed said that their children had boomeranged home because of the current economic situation in the country.
✦ 48% of the young adults reported to have paid rent to the parents, whereas 89% claimed to have contributed financially to manage daily expenses for the family.
✦ According to Pew, the reason so many youngsters are upbeat about their decision to move back in with parents is because, the trend has become very common.
✦ 61% of young adults between ages 25 – 34, reported that they had friends and family in a similar situation as them and had chosen to move back with their parents.
✦ Even those with jobs are returning home, to get away from the skyrocketing down payments and credit standards which have dissuaded many young Americans from investing in a house of their own. To top it all, the lowered incomes and escalating unemployment has made it almost impossible for young adults to afford renting a place.
✦ According to the analysis of the U.S. Decennial Census data by Pew, the number of young Americans (25 – 34 years) living in multi-generation households was the highest in 1940 at 30%, the lowest in 1980 at 11%, and rose substantially to 21.6% in 2010 because of the recession of 2007. However, the poverty rate for young adults staying in a multi-generation setup was much lower at 9.8% as compared to 17.4% among those who were living separately.