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National

Share of millennials living with their parents, 2022

Data: U.S. Census via IPUMS; Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals

Nearly 16% of U.S. millennials lived with their parents in 2022, per the latest census figures.

Why it matters: Younger people are increasingly struggling to swing high housing costs and returning to their childhood bedrooms or basements.

The number of Americans aged 25–34 living at home has jumped over 87% in the past two decades, according to census data.

What's happening: Younger generations may be staying home to save on expenses like rent or a future down payment, says Adina Dragos, research analyst at RentCafe, an apartment search website.

More young adults could also be choosing to care for family members, Dragos tells Axios.

What they're saying: Sharon Wilson's 29-year-old son and his wife live in her remodeled basement apartment in southern Minnesota.

"The plan is for me to downsize and move downstairs, and they take over the upstairs" as they start a family, says Wilson, who tells Axios she's grateful to have family close after her husband died.

Commerce City, Colorado, parent Greg Francis has two Gen Z adults at home: a college student and a recent graduate.

"He's way ahead of where I was at his age," Francis says of his older son, who pays a small rent but uses the bulk of his paychecks to pay down student debt and invest.

The younger brother is staying home to avoid racking up student debt, and he'll continue living there after graduation.

Reality check: Plunging affordability hasn't stopped some millennials from buying homes, often with family help.

Nearly 55% of millennials (those aged 27–42) owned a home in 2023, up from 52% in 2022, according to a new Redfin report.

Meanwhile, adult Gen Zers' (those aged 19–26) homeownership rate stagnated at just over 26%.

What we're watching: Those who move out might find rent is a lot more expensive than it was a few years ago, even as price increases slowed last year.

It's one reason why renters are feeling badly about their finances, according to the Axios Vibes survey by The Harris Poll.

Go deeper: Multigenerational living is up 1M households in last decade; here's which states

Why millennials are moving back home

The number of Americans aged 25–34 living at home has jumped over 87% in the past 20 years.

Real estate

Business

Top stories & latest news on the Federal Reserve, real-time data, plus the biggest shifts happening in the U.S. and global economy.

Economy

Share of renters who are cost burdened by their rent, 2022

Data: Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies; Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals

Half of all renters in the U.S. were burdened by the cost of their rent in 2022, a report released by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies this week found.

Why it matters: The increasing lack of affordable housing over the past few years has plagued millions of people across the country, just as homelessness reached an all-time high last year.

Meanwhile, soaring home prices and mortgage rates pushed homeownership increasingly out of reach.

What they found: An extended period of rising rent prices during the COVID-19 pandemic "put unaffordability at an all-time high," researchers said.

The financial strain was felt across the income spectrum, with the share of cost-burdened renters rising to 50%.

But the burden rose the most for middle-income renter households earning between $30,000 and $74,999 annually.

By the numbers: The number of renter households spending more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities rose by 2 million in three years to a record high of 22.4 million, according to the study.

Among them, 12.1 million people paid over half of their income for housing, with housing costs also at an all-time high.

Yes, but rent hikes have almost completely stopped after historically high increases in 2021 and 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers said. 

In the third quarter of 2023, rent for professionally managed apartments fell to just 0.4% — down from 15.3% in early 2022.

"This abrupt deceleration was geographically widespread, with rents even falling in some markets," lead author of the report Whitney Airgood-Obrycki said. "While the slowdown is a welcome change for renters, asking rents still remain well above pre-pandemic levels." 

Between the lines: Rent increases are significantly outpacing income gains.

In 2022, median rents were 21% higher than they were in 2001. During the same period, renters' incomes have risen just 2%.

The bottom line: Increased resources for renters during the pandemic "demonstrated that financial assistance and supports keep tenants stably housed and landlords solvent," researchers concluded.

"As these resources have expired, however, the housing safety net is once again overwhelmed and underfunded," Chris Herbert, managing director of the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, said. 

Go deeper: Why renters are feeling worse about their finances than homeowners

Housing was wildly unaffordable for half of renters in 2022, report shows

Rent increases are significantly outpacing income gains.

Affordable housing

2024 will be an election year like no other, as President Biden seeks re-election amid economic uncertainty, two wars and questions about his age. His likely foe, former President Trump, faces felony charges and vows revenge on his political enemies. Meanwhile, Americans generally are dissatisfied with those choices and are divided over immigration, race, education and more.

Politics & Policy

Capital

Axios Capital

Data: Federal Reserve; Chart: Axios Visuals

Here's a conundrum that got me very puzzled after I was introduced to it by Elizabeth Renter of NerdWallet: Why are single parents so much richer than single non-parents? 

Why it matters: It's generally understood that the more money you make, the more money you'll have. But that doesn't seem to be the case when you look at the Fed's triennial survey of consumer finances. 

Where it stands: Since the 2013 survey, single parents have been getting much richer — in 2022, the median such adult was worth $50,750, almost three times the $18,023 of nine years previously. (All numbers are in inflation-adjusted 2022 dollars.)

Single non-parents under the age of 55, meanwhile, both earned more than the single parents for the entire period and didn't have any kids to support. And yet their net worth lagged, hovering around the $20,000 level the whole time. 

Be smart: Here's our best guess for how to resolve this puzzle. 

The way most Americans build wealth isn't by making more money, it's by owning a home.

Between 2007 and 2022, single non-parents fell out of love with homeownership. While the single-parent homeownership rate stayed relatively steady over that time — around 50% — the rate for single non-parents fell to a mere 29%.

Between the lines: It's hard to be footloose and fancy-free once you're raising a child; instead, you tend to seek stability and certainty. That means you're much more likely to want to buy a home. There are also societal expectations that parents should be homeowners.

By the numbers: In a survey Harris Poll conducted for NerdWallet, 47% of renters who are parents with children under age 18 say they are embarrassed to say they rent rather than own.

That compares with just 29% of non-parent renters.

In other words: There's strong and measurable societal pressure to buy a home once you have a child — and that pressure, in turn, can end up translating into wealth.

The bottom line: That higher net worth for single parents probably isn't very liquid.

Why single parents are richer

What homeownership may have to do with it

Wealth

Germany, Canada, the U.K., and six other Western nations have joined the U.S. in pausing funding for UN Palestinian refugee agency after Israel alleged 12 UNRWA employees were involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack.

The big picture: UNRWA has fired the accused staffers and launched an investigation. The head of UNRWA warned on Saturday that "lifesaving assistance is about to end" due to nine countries' decision to suspend funding. 

"UNRWA is the primary humanitarian agency in Gaza, with over 2 million people depending on it for their sheer survival," UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement. 

"Many are hungry as the clock is ticking towards a looming famine. The Agency runs shelters for over 1 million people and provides food and primary healthcare even at the height of the hostilities," he added. 

Driving the news: A senior Israeli official said the Shin Bet and Israeli military intelligence provided information that pointed to the active participation of UNRWA staffers and the use of the agency's vehicles and facilities during the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.

"This was strong and corroborated intelligence," the official said. "A lot of the intelligence is a result of interrogations of militants who were arrested during the Oct. 7 attack."

The U.S. on Friday became the first country to pause its funding to UNRWA over the allegations. It was the first step by the Biden administration against UNRWA since renewing U.S. funding to the agency after the Trump administration completely cut it off.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the U.S. is "extremely troubled by the allegations" and the administration has "temporarily paused additional funding for UNRWA while we review these allegations and the steps the United Nations is taking to address them."

Germany, UNRWA's second-largest donor, joined the U.S. in pausing funding on Saturday. The U.K., Finland, Australia, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland also temporarily suspended their funding. 

State of play: Lazzarini said on Friday he terminated the contracts of the accused staff members and launched an investigation to "establish the truth without delay."

"Any UNRWA employee who was involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution," Lazzarini said.

"UNRWA reiterates its condemnation in the strongest possible terms of the abhorrent attacks" on Oct. 7 and "calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all Israeli hostages and their safe return to their families," he added.

The UN will conduct an "urgent and comprehensive independent review of UNRWA," Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, said on Friday. 

Guterres is "horrified" by the allegations, Dujarric added. 

He has also asked Lazzarini to "investigate this matter swiftly and to ensure that any UNRWA employee shown to have participated or abetted what transpired on 7 October, or in any other criminal activity, be terminated immediately and referred for potential criminal prosecution," he added. 

What they're saying: Miller said Secretary of State Tony Blinken spoke to Guterres on Thursday and emphasized "the necessity of a thorough and swift investigation of this matter."

Miller welcomed the UN's announcement of a comprehensive and independent review of UNRWA, and said there "must be complete accountability for anyone who participated in the heinous attacks of Oct. 7."

"UNRWA plays a critical role in providing lifesaving assistance to Palestinians, including essential food, medicine, shelter, and other vital humanitarian support," Miller added.

"Their work has saved lives, and it is important that UNRWA address these allegations and take any appropriate corrective measures, including reviewing its existing policies and procedures."

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Friday thanked the Biden administration for "taking an important step in holding UNRWA accountable."

"Terrorism under the guise of humanitarian work is a disgrace to the UN and the principles it claims to represent," he added. 

Editor's note: This story and headline has been updated with additional details throughout. 

Eight countries join U.S. in pausing funding to UN aid agency in Gaza

UNRWA workers pack the medical aid and prepare it for distribution to hospitals at a warehouse in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza. Photo: Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Palestine

Israel

Conflicts, policies and powers are intersecting and shaping the world. Breaking news and analysis of national security, foreign policy and global crises.

World

In tech, 2024 started the way 2023 did — with a wave of layoffs — even though the U.S. economy is booming and the industry is thriving.

Why it matters: Layoffs can be devastating if you're involved, but in the roiling world of tech, regular job cuts are also part of the landscape.

In tech, company leaders see layoffs as a way to stay efficient, shift priorities and weed out underperformers — while many employees, particularly those with technical skills, assume that finding a new job won't be that hard, and often they're right. 

In many cases, the same companies that are laying people off are also still hiring. 

Tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon, which recently cut jobs in gaming and streaming respectively, are simultaneously planning huge investments in AI.

Driving the news: Microsoft announced this past week that it would cut 1,900 workers from its gaming division.

Microsoft recently closed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which is where most of the cuts — representing about 8% of the company's total gaming workforce of 22,000 — are landing.

Google also announced a smaller round of layoffs earlier this month and said some cuts would continue to be made throughout the year.

Google and Microsoft's stocks both hit record highs this week.

Dozens of other companies have announced modest layoffs this month, but not on the scale of Big Tech's cuts at the start of 2023, which in some cases ran to 10,000 or more jobs.

Those cuts followed what many companies now say was a binge of over-hiring at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

Between the lines: The tech industry has always had its own boom-bust cycle, often tracking the ebb and flow of tech adoption cycles like the advent of the personal computer, the internet, and the smartphone.

Today's tech giants know that the smartphone era has matured, and that other recent trends — like cryptocurrency/web3 and the metaverse — haven't taken off, but they are gearing up for a vast wave of growth around AI.

Be smart: These layoffs are strategic moves rather than "spend less or die" cuts.

Big tech is thriving despite the layoffs

Companies like Microsoft are cutting jobs despite surging stocks.

Axios

Saturday's top stories

Why millennials are moving back home

Housing was wildly unaffordable for half of renters in 2022, report shows

Why single parents are richer

Eight countries join U.S. in pausing funding to UN aid agency in Gaza

Big tech is thriving despite the layoffs

Biden hit from all sides in Congress on Middle East strikes

The U.S. wants China to play a larger role in the Middle East

The search for quantum algorithms

Senators zero in on high stakes border deal

Forget brainstorming. Try brainwriting.

Trump ordered to pay $83.3 million to E. Jean Carroll in defamation trial