Patrice Hill of the Washington Times has published the first installment of a two-part series on the economic difficulties facing “millennials” (“Millennials Forced to Put Lives on Hold”).  The unemployment rate is 15.8% for those ages 18-29 – which is twice the national average.  Among the problems facing Millennials is student debt – an issue of great interest here at FRC:

The result was an explosion of student-loan debt as families stretched to send their children to school. Today’s college freshmen are taking on twice the load of student debt as freshmen did 10 years ago, according to Standard & Poor’s Corp. It is becoming more common for students to take on as much as $100,000 in debt just to get a bachelor’s degree.

While taking on debt to get the education and training needed to obtain good jobs makes sense, the dearth of entry-level job openings since the Great Recession started in late 2007 has made it impossible for many graduates to pay off their loans, said S&P analyst Robert McNatt. Defaults among young graduates have escalated to levels near 9 percent.

While graduates can postpone payments on their loans until they get jobs, the debt cannot be discharged through bankruptcy and “can become a serious burden” for people who have had trouble securing regular work or high-paying jobs, Mr. McNatt said.

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