High-Income Families are Their Own Safety Net for Boomerang Kids During the Pandemic

In a new Economic Commentary, Cleveland Fed researchers find that most young adults who moved in with their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic—the so-called boomerang kids— come from high-income families who are more likely to be able to financially support their children and enable them to better weather economic shocks.

“This economic support from their families has likely enabled boomerang kids to stay nonemployed for longer periods of time compared to young adults living away from their parents and to be more selective about the jobs they do take.,” say Cleveland Fed researchers Rachel Widra and André Victor D. Luduvice.

This behavior is consistent across different levels of education. The patterns documented in this article for boomerang kids represent additional evidence of the pandemic’s having unequal economic effects among young workers.

Read more: Boomerang Kids in the Pandemic: How High-Income Families Are Their Own Safety Net

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that along with the Board of Governors in Washington DC comprise the Federal Reserve System. Part of the US central bank, the Cleveland Fed participates in the formulation of our nation’s monetary policy, supervises banking organizations, provides payment and other services to financial institutions and to the US Treasury, and performs many activities that support Federal Reserve operations System-wide. In addition, the Bank supports the well-being of communities across the Fourth Federal Reserve District through a wide array of research, outreach, and educational activities.

The Cleveland Fed, with branches in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, serves an area that comprises Ohio, western Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia.

Media contact

Doug Campbell, doug.campbell@clev.frb.org, 513.455.4479