For people who only care about the stock market, it might be possible to forget that a little more than 10 years ago, the United States (and most of the world) experienced an economic calamity second only to the Great Depression in scope. But just as the Great Depression left an indelible impact on an entire generation, with ripples and effects still visible today, the Great Recession of 2007-2009 continues to leave its mark, most significantly impacting those born between 1981 and 1996—a generation that baby boomers and Generation Xers (the ones largely responsible for that crisis and its aftermath) have labeled “millennials.”
Millennials, many of whom were just starting their “adult” lives in the late 2000s, were particularly hammered by the Great Recession. And unlike members of the prior Generation X, who recouped most of the wealth they lost during that time thanks to rising housing prices and a resurgent stock market, the losses sustained by millennials are more painful and lasting. Writing for The Atlantic in 2011, Derek Thompson explained, “Downturns like this one change the course of a lifetime for college graduates, as low starting salaries snowball into a lifetime of depressed wages, slim pensions, and even shorter lifespans.” Thompson’s words were prophetic: For millennials, all of those predictions—including diminished lifespans—are now, unfortunately, coming true.