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This report is based on findings from a Pew Research Center survey conducted 6-19 December 2011 among 2,048 adults nationwide, including 808 young adults (ages 18 to 34). The report also draws on data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Key findings include: young adults were hit hard by the recession; the public says today's young adults have it harder than their parents did (82 per cent say finding a job is harder for young adults today than it was for their parents' generation, 75 per cent say it's harder now to save for the future, pay for college (71 per cent) or buy a home (69 per cent); tough economic times are altering young adults' daily lives and long-term plans; adulthood begins later than it used to (67 per cent of parents with young children said children should be financially independent from their parents by the age of 22 while 31 per cent of today's parents say children shouldn't have to be on their own financially until age 25 or later); for young adults, bad times don't trump optimism; older adults have maintained their standard of living; among the employed, job satisfaction has remained steady but young workers feel more vulnerable than they used to; few young workers see their current job as a 'career' (among all 18- to 34-year-olds, only 30 per cent consider their current job a career compared to 52 per cent among workers ages 35 and older); most young workers say they don't have the education and training to get ahead; and college enrollment rates are tied to employment declines among the young.

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Over the course of the past four decades, women have been making significant gains in their labor force participation and educational attainment. This report summarises the results of a Pew Research Center survey about the importance of career, marriage and parenthood. Key findings include: in a reversal of traditional gender roles, young women now surpass young men in the importance they place on having a high-paying career or profession; for men and women of all ages, being a good parent and having a successful marriage continue to rank significantly higher on their list of priorities than being successful in a high-paying job or career; and though women are increasingly focused on college and career, the share who place marriage and parenthood high on the list of priorities is undiminished.

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Record shares of young adults are completing high school, going to college and finishing college, according to this analysis of newly available census data. In 2012, for the first time ever, one-third of the [US] nation's 25- to 29-year-olds have completed at least a bachelor's degree. These across-the-board increases have occurred despite dramatic immigration-driven changes in the racial and ethnic composition of college-age young adults, a trend that had led some experts to expect a decline in educational attainment. College completion is now at record levels among key demographic groups: men and women; blacks, whites and Hispanics; and foreign-born and native-born Americans. Also, a record share of the nation's young adults ages 25 to 29 (90 per cent) has finished at least a high school education. And another record share - 63 per cent - has completed at least some college. Some of the 'credit' for recent increases appears to go to the Great Recession of 2007-2009 and the sluggish jobs recovery since. With young adults facing sharply diminished labor market opportunities, their rate of high school and college completion has been rising slowly but steadily since 2007, after having been stagnant during better economic times earlier in the decade. Changing public attitudes about the importance of going to college to succeed in an increasingly knowledge-based labor market may also have played a role.

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