Jobless on LI Part II: Boomerang Generation

Many young Long Islanders who pack up and head off to college don't picture themselves ever moving back in with mom and dad after graduation.Yet a growing number of young adults are doing just that. They're

News 12 Staff

Dec 14, 2011, 3:54 AM

Updated 4,742 days ago

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Many young Long Islanders who pack up and head off to college don't picture themselves ever moving back in with mom and dad after graduation.Yet a growing number of young adults are doing just that. They're called the "boomerang generation," because after many young people head out on their own, the tough economy and poor job market zips them back around to where they started: at their parents' homes.Young Nassau and Suffolk residents are facing an extraordinarily high unemployment rate, experts say. While Long Island's jobless rate is at 6.6 percent, it could be as high as 20 percent for recent college graduates, according to Long Island economist Dr. Pearl Kamer.Kamer says people in their early 20s are facing more competition from skilled, older workers who are also looking for jobs. Beyond that, he says many older workers are not retiring as early as in the past, and there aren't enough jobs being created. All these factors combined give young Long Islanders a dismal shot at making it on their own.The local job market has many young adults giving up on Island life to seek job opportunities out-of-state, economists say.News 12 Series: Jobless on LIJobless on LI Part I: Unemployed in an unforgiving economy