How millennials fared financially and at work during the pandemic

There are a lot of stereotypes about millennials: They spend too much money on avocado toast. They’ve killed everything from napkins to diamonds. They even have their own shade of pink. 

But the reality is much more complicated, particularly when it comes to millennials’ financial well-being. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, millennials had been dubbed the “unluckiest generation” by some economists. 

Many entered the workforce during the Great Recession. Then, the pandemic upended the economy and workplaces, and economists say that could have lifelong impacts on millennials’ earning potential and ability to hit life milestones like owning a home. 

Guest host Nina Moini talked about millennials in the workplace, how the pandemic affected them and what comes next. 

Guests:

• Gray Kimbrough is an economist at American University in Washington, D.C. He has been dubbed the “serial millennial myth-buster” by the Washington Post. 

• Lana Truong is vice president of Young Professionals of Minneapolis. 

• Ana Hernández Kent is a senior researcher for the Institute for Economic Equity at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.