Millennials now officially make up the largest share of the American workforce

[caption id=”attachment_128204″ align=”aligncenter” width=”5274″] (AP Photo/Chattanooga Times Free Press, Dan Henry) 

[/caption]

Millennials have officially surpassed Generation X to become the largest share of the American workforce, according to new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data out this week.

Millennials are defined by Pew as those 18- to 34-years-old.

Currently, there are about 53.5 million Millennials in the workforce.

Pew expects the number of Millennials in the workforce and the gap between the generation to grow even larger in the next few years due to immigration and to the youngest Millennials graduating college.

From the Pew Research Center report:

“First, immigration to the U.S. will continue to disproportionately enlarge the ranks of the Millennial labor force. Immigrants coming to the U.S. are disproportionately in their young working years. Relatively speaking, few immigrants come to the U.S. during childhood or during older adulthood. In the past five years, over half of newly arrived immigrant workers have been Millennials.

In addition, a significant chunk of the Millennial population are 18- to 24-year-olds. These are the years when school and college-going are often center-stage, and as a result, labor force participation is suppressed. As the youngest Millennials get older, more of them will be looking for or getting jobs.”



The Millennial population as a whole, not just the workforce, is also on track to surpass the Baby Boomers this year as the country’s largest living generation, according to the Census Bureau.

Related Content