You can now add fiscal solvency to the list of things millennials are killing, including Applebee’s, movie-going and the McRib.
A startling new report has found that student debt currently being held in America has now reached $1.465 trillion. Just for some prospective, that’s more than double the amount from just a decade ago—when the recession officially ended. The big chunk of the debt is held by two demographics: 25-34 year olds ($489 billion) and 24-49 year olds ($530 billion).
In fact, there are currently more than 2.7 million Americans who owe $100,000 or more in student loans. Almost 700,000 owe more than 2 million. (h/t Bloomberg)
Unsurprisingly, many are having trouble making their payments, with millennial grads (namely, those who graduated in 2012), leading in defaults. As Bloomberg explained, “Borrowers in this group entered the labor force when the unemployment rate was twice as high as today and may have found it difficult to find a career track in their desired field.”
This could spell big problems for the U.S. economy. Paul Della Guardia, economist at the Institute of International Finance explained to Bloomberg, “Over 90% of student loans are guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Education, meaning that if a recession causes a rise in youth unemployment and triggers mass defaults, this contingent liability could prove burdensome for the U.S. government budget.”
