Americans aged 30-40 are the ‘biggest losers’ in US society — here’s why

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A quick Google search reveals that millennials are often characterized as entitled whiners who are quick to complain about their financial struggles — but it’s not a fair assessment.

There’s a reason why millennials — typically defined as between the age of 28 and 43 — are on shakier financial ground compared to previous generations.

Recent data from Allianz highlights the difference between millennials and boomers from an economic standpoint.

It shows that, while boomers have been able to benefit from periods of strong economic growth, millennials have been hit with one financial crisis after another since reaching an age when it was finally possible to start saving and growing their wealth.

According to a study from the American Journal of Sociology, the average millennial has 30% less wealth at the age of 35 than boomers did at the same age.

Here’s how society’s “biggest losers” can get ahead after multiple setbacks.

Millennials have had a number of economic factors working against them over the years.

During the Great Recession, which lasted from 2007 to 2009, millennials — many of whom were in their 20s at the time — were impacted by high levels of unemployment, making it harder to not only build careers, but set aside savings and keep up with student loan payments.

With student debt, millennials weren’t helped by the fact that college costs rose exponentially in the years leading up to their postsecondary education.

The Education Data Initiative reports that the average annual cost of a public four-year institution was $514 in 1973-1974, when many boomers were in attendance.

However, by the 2003-2004 academic year, when many millennials attended, that cost had increased to $4,587. This left millennials with high levels of student debt, a struggling economy, and a slow economic recovery that would ultimately last years.

In October 2009, the national unemployment rate reached 10%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Three years later, though, it was still at 7.8%. By contrast, boomers who entered the workforce in January 1970 enjoyed an unemployment rate of only 3.9%, according to the Federal Reserve.

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