Coronavirus and the economy: Millennials hit hardest, study says

Many millennials want to get off on the right foot by going to school, finding a job, buying a home and starting a family.

It’s difficult to get life going with one financial crisis after another: post-9/11 economy, the 2008 recession and now the coronavirus pandemic.

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One of the big credit reporting agencies, TransUnion, recently did a study and found that out of everyone struggling financially right now, millennials have been the most severely impacted. The report shows 61% of millennials couldn’t pay for shelter, compared to 57% for other age groups.

The study concluded 48% of millennials “have seen their work hours reduced,” compared to 32% for everyone else.

While 76% of surveyed millennials said their household income has been negatively affected by the coronavirus pandemic, 64% of all other respondents reported they were negatively affected.

"COVID-19 has brought about unprecedented financial challenges to people and businesses around the globe,” said Chris Cartwright, CEO of TransUnion. “A thorough and fact-based understanding of these impacts and how best to respond to them is second only to our health and safety in terms of society’s successful recovery from this global pandemic.”

For the report, TransUnion surveyed 9,215 people in the U.S., Canada, Colombia, Hong Kong, India, South Africa and the U.K during the week of April 13. Millennials are considered those aged 26 to 40.

Read more here and see TransUnion’s latest report on COVID-19′s financial impact on consumers here.

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Brianna Chambers contributed to this report.