A record 36 percent of Americans ages 18 to 31 are living at their parents’ homes, the highest number in four decades.

“Most of my friends that have graduated end up living back home because even if they have a job they can’t afford to pay rent and pay back their loans at the same time,” Stephanie Levonne, a 20-year-old college student living at home, told CBS News. “I know a lot of people that took out almost half or more of their tuition in loans, which is $50,000, so it’s impossible to pay rent and live in New York City while paying off your loan.”

The measure was at 32 percent at the beginning of the recession in 2007 and 34 percent in 2009.

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

CBSDC:

Declining employment led more young adults to stay with their parents. Sixty-three percent of Millennials had jobs in 2012, down from 70 percent in 2007.

The study also found that the number of 18- to 24-year-olds who were enrolled in college rose from 35 percent in March 2007 to 39 percent in March 2012 and that the number of Millennials dropped to 25 percent last year from 30 percent in 2007.

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