College might be the accepted path toward a good job, but it won’t teach a student how to budget.
About 57 percent of millennials feel that college failed to teach them personal finance skills, according to a new survey from Generation Opportunity.
That could explain why 49 percent of them “somewhat” or “heavily” relied on their parents or other family members for financial assistance after graduation.
A bum job market doesn’t help matters, though at least that’s improving.
Part of the difficulty, however, comes from rising prices. As millennials chase jobs in metro areas, getting a job doesn’t always mean economic security. High housing prices that increase faster than wages have put millennials in a bind.
Housing costs bear down the most on millennial anxiety. Almost 39 percent of millennials felt that housing is the most difficulty item for them to afford. That outpaces student debt (21 percent) and health care (12 percent). Even when they move out after graduation, millennials are more likely to have a roommate, or stay in that situation, longer than otherwise because of high housing costs.
On the bright side, the situation isn’t as dire as it was. Millennial underemployment is improving, and the first years of work struggle have given millennials better skills. For millennials on the verge of graduation, they’re entering a healthier economy. The unemployment rate was 8.2 percent in May 2012, but has fallen to 5 percent by December 2015.
That might be cold comfort to millennials who have had rough job prospects for years, but that anxiety should see some hope for the future.
