36.4% of young women lived with parents or relatives in 2014 Patrick Wymore / The CW / Courtesy: Everett CollectionOn the TV show "Jane the Virgin," the lead character lives at home with her mom and grandmother.A record 36.4% of young women were living at home with their parents or other relatives last year, the highest share of the population since Franklin Delano Roosevelt was president. This is according to Pew Research Center, which analyzed U.S. Census Bureau data. “Young” includes women ages 18 to 34. The research shows that a greater percentage of men (42.8%) are living at home than women, but men living at home still haven’t reached the peak levels they did in 1940, the earliest year for which similar data on living arrangements is available. The trend of more young women living at home can be attributed to “a conspiracy” of economic metrics, said Anthony Carnevale, the director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. For instance, as Pew’s report notes, women are less likely to be married than they were in the past; the median age for women to be married for the first time is now 27, up from 21.5 in 1940. Many more young women also attend college now compared with in the past; they’re enrolling in even greater numbers than young men, particularly in the Hispanic and black populations of the U.S. (Studies sometimes consider young adults living in college dormitories among those living “at home.” This data from Pew does not.) Because formal education or on-the-job training is required for an increased number of jobs, “We’ve essentially added a new phase to the life cycle” for both men and women, Carnevale said, making the transition to independent adulthood further away, even for college graduates. In the past, especially in the 1970s when there were more jobs available doing industrial, clerical, manufacturing and retail work, it was easier for young people to become independent more quickly. Clerical jobs offer relatively low pay today on average, according to data from Glassdoor; an office manager can expect to make about $45,000 a year, and a receptionist on average makes $32,000. Housing costs are also high, for both buying and renting, particularly in large cities that attract young adults looking for work. “From the point of view of a young person, we have a housing shortage,” Carnevale said. And although there have been recent gains in jobs numbers, young adults are still grappling with years of unemployment after the recession, putting them in competition with lower-wage workers while they try to pay off record student loan debt. The fact that women are still living at home in lower percentages than men is somewhat surprising, given the obstacles women still face in the workforce, Carnevale added. Women have slightly better employment numbers than men; in October 2015, women 20 and over had a 4.5% unemployment rate, compared with 4.7% for men. Still, despite their higher employment, they are paid less than men, both due to the wage gap and their choices of college majors and professions, Carnevale said. They also face more pressure to take care of family members, even those older than they are, and end up acting as caregivers more frequently than men do. All of these factors combine to paint a depressing picture, but Carnevale said overall, the trends do not indicate a refusal to leave the nest. “Some people are realists and say, ‘That’s just the way it is, and it’s not a bad thing,’” he said. “The economy changed, and that changed the relationship and the transition between youth dependency and adult independence. It just takes longer to prepare somebody for life.” And despite the negative stereotypes associated with the lazy millennial living in his (or her) parents’ basement, living at home can be a smart financial decision, especially given the current economic climate, said Garrett Prom, an Austin, Texas-based financial planner who works with many millennial clients. “For people to be able to live at home for one to two years and save the money they would put into $1,000 per month rent, coupled with utilities and food, and to be able to get their feet under them really benefits them quite significantly in the long run,” he said, noting they can avoid racking up credit-card debt and other expenses. He recommended those employed and living at home should try to save each month the amount they would be paying in rent. Financial planner Sophia Bera, who also focuses on millennial clients, said increasing numbers of young people she works with who choose to live at home are immigrants or first-generation Americans, who have a different cultural attitude toward staying at home longer, viewing it more positively. Bera herself moved back in with her parents in Minneapolis last year, at age 29 after a divorce, and said she gained new perspective on the studies showing numbers of adults living at home. “I think a lot of those studies are much more complex than I realized, whether it’s a house issue or family issue or life transition issue, people are getting married, having kids and moving,” she said. “And shouldn’t we all be so lucky to have family that supports us?” http://www.marketwatch.com/