Millennials Dominate Workforce, But Own Less Than 5 Percent of US Wealth

Millennials make up the biggest chunk of the workforce, but own just 4.6% of the nation’s wealth — and are a lot poorer than their elders were at that age, new data showed Friday.

In a Federal Reserve breakdown of U.S. wealth in the beginning of 2020 by age, class and race, data showed that baby boomers control over 53% of U.S. wealth, Gen Xers own just over 25% and the ''Silent and Earlier'' generation holds around 17%.

CNBC reported it’s not unusual for older generations to be wealthier than younger generations, but it is noteworthy that millennials have less wealth than boomers at the same age.

In 1989, when baby boomers were around the same age as today’s millennials, they controlled 21% of the nation’s wealth — five times as much as what millennials own today, CNBC noted.

Previous reports have also found that millennials are, on average, worse off than their parents and grandparents were at the same age, despite being better educated. And the coronavirus pandemic is worsening the inequality, CNBC reported, with job losses hitting low-wage workers in industries like retail, education and hospitality the hardest.

Millennial workers — as well as women and minorities — make up a disproportionate share of those workforces, CNBC reported.

Millennials have also mostly missed out on the gains made in the stock market over the past few months, CNBC reported, owning just 2% of total equity in corporations and mutual fund shares. Baby boomers control over 55%.

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