After spending much of the last few years in a recession, young people know securing their economic futures won't be a cakewalk.
According to an Associated Press-Viacom poll conducted between February 18 and March 6 of Americans ages 18 to 24, a little more than half of young people said it will be harder for them to buy a house and save for retirement than it was for their parents. About half said money was "a big factor" or "the single most important factor" in deciding whether to continue their education past high school.
The Associated Press-Viacom Survey of Youth on Education is a telephone poll based on 1,104 respondents used to determine young attitudes toward education and the economy.
[Learn how reducing the high school dropout rate would improve the economy.]
Respondents may have considered their parents' situations and the economy in general when answering the poll. About 1 in 5 said that at least one of their parents had been laid off or lost a job since September 1, and 75 percent felt that the economy was poor.
But respondents didn't dwell on economic uncertainty. Ninety percent said they were very or somewhat confident that they'd find a career that would bring them happiness, and 87 percent said they were currently very happy or somewhat happy with their lives in general.
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