Snapchat Use by Generation

Nearly one in four Americans (24.6%) use Snapchat, according to the General Social Survey. Here are the percentages by generation...

Percent who use Snapchat
iGeneration (18 to 21): 64.0%
Millennials (22 to 39): 37.0%
Gen Xers (40 to 51): 14.8%
Boomers (52 to 70): 6.8%
Older (71 or older): 5.3%

Source: Demo Memo analysis of the 2016 General Social Survey

Instagram Use by Generation

Nearly one in three Americans (32.8%) use Instagram, according to the General Social Survey. Here are the percentages by generation...

Percent who use Instagram
iGeneration (18 to 21): 68.9%
Millennials (22 to 39): 46.4%
Gen Xers (40 to 51): 27.4%
Boomers (52 to 70): 12.2%
Older (71 or older): 9.7%

Source: Demo Memo analysis of the 2016 General Social Survey

Population by Generation, 2016

Boomers and their elders now account for less than one-third of the U.S. population, according to the Census Bureau's 2016 population estimates. Millennials and younger generations account for the 52 percent majority of Americans.

Generational power is shifting as older generations shrink and younger ones grow. In the past year, the number of Gen Xers fell by 57,000, Boomers lost 652,000 of their peers, and the number of older Americans (born in 1945 or earlier) dropped by 1.7 million. Since 2010, the number of older Americans has fallen by more than 10 million.

Between 2015 and 2016 the number of Millennials grew by 348,000, the iGeneration by 280,000, and the Recession generation by a whopping 4 million as births during the year expanded its ranks. In 2017, the Recession generation will surpass older Americans in size.

Size of generations in 2016 (and % of total population)
323,127,513 (100.0%): Total population
27,989,207 (  8.7%): Recession generation (aged 0 to 6)
62,788,936 (19.4%): iGeneration (aged 7 to 21)
79,159,101 (24.5%): Millennial generation (aged 22 to 39)  
49,151,059 (15.2%): Generation X (aged 40 to 51)  
74,102,309 (22.9%): Baby Boom (aged 52 to 70)  
29,936,901 (  9.3%): Older Americans (aged 71-plus)  

Source: Demo Memo analysis of the Census Bureau's National Population by Characteristics Datasets: 2010–2016

Is Life Expectancy Falling among the Least Educated?

Not according to a study by the Center for Retirement Research. The least-educated Americans are not who they used to be, say CRR researchers, and that must be taken into account when determining trends in life expectancy.

Back when dropping out of high school was practically the norm, the least educated were part of the economic mainstream. Today, they are an increasingly disadvantaged economic minority. That's why comparing the life expectancy of high school dropouts over time is like comparing apples and oranges. To solve this problem, CRR researchers took a different approach. They examined life expectancy trends between 1979 and 2011 by dividing the population in each year into educational attainment quartiles. By defining educational attainment relatively rather than absolutely, the decline in life expectancy among the least educated disappears.

In fact, the life expectancy of the least educated increased between 1979 and 2011, as did the life expectancy of every other educational attainment quartile. But the gains were bigger for the better-educated groups and biggest among the most highly educated. Life expectancy is increasing for all, conclude the researchers. But "mortality inequality is worsening over time."

Source: Center for Retirement Research, Rising Inequality in Life Expectancy by Socioeconomic Status

Living Arrangements of Young Adults, 1975 and 2016

The lives of young adults have changed dramatically over the past 40 years, according to a Census Bureau report. A comparison of the living arrangements of 18-to-34-year-olds in 2016 with the living arrangements of their counterparts more than 40 years ago in 1975 shows just how much has changed...

• Only 27% live with a spouse, down from the 57% majority in 1975.
• Nearly one-third (31%) live with their parents, up from 26% in 1975.
• One in eight (12%) lives with an unmarried partner, up from just 1% in 1975.
• More live alone—8% in 2016, up from 5% in 1975.
• One in five (21%) has some other living arrangement, up from 11% of 1975. 

Perhaps the biggest difference between then and now is that there's no longer a dominant type of living arrangement for the age group, making young adults increasingly difficult to target.

Source: Census Bureau, The Changing Economics and Demographics of Young Adulthood: 1975–2016

Twitter Use by Generation

Nearly one in five Americans who use the internet use Twitter (18.9%), according to the General Social Survey. Here are the percentages by generation...

Percent who use Twitter
iGeneration (18 to 21): 41.1%
Millennials (22 to 39): 23.9%
Gen Xers (40 to 51): 16.3%
Boomers (52 to 70): 10.6%
Older (71 or older): 5.1%

Source: Demo Memo analysis of the 2016 General Social Survey

Facebook Use by Generation

Three out of four Americans who use the internet use Facebook (74.2%), according to the General Social Survey. Here are the percentages by generation...

Percent who use Facebook
iGeneration (18 to 21): 72.6%
Millennials (22 to 39): 82.4%
Gen Xers (40 to 51): 75.5%
Boomers (52 to 70): 63.2%
Older (71 or older): 67.9%

Source: Demo Memo analysis of the 2016 General Social Survey

Students Much More Diverse than Teachers

The nation's elementary and secondary school students are much more diverse than their teachers. Half of public school students are Hispanic, Black, Asian or another minority, according to the Digest of Education Statistics. But only 18 percent of public school teachers are minorities, according to a National Center for Education Statistics report.

Although the minority share of school teachers is growing, the Black share of school teachers  is shrinking. Between 1987 and 2012, the Black share of elementary and secondary school teachers fell from 8 to 6 percent. Here is how the racial and ethnic diversity of school teachers has changed over the past quarter century...

Non-Hispanic White share of teachers
2012: 83%
1987: 88%

Black share of teachers
2012: 6%
1987: 8%

Hispanic share of teachers
2012: 7%
1987: 3%

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, A Quarter Century of Changes in the Elementary and Secondary Teaching Force: From 1987 to 2012

Migration Fuels Urban County Growth

The nation's most urban counties grew by a substantial 6.0 percent between 2010 and 2016, faster than any other type, according to a Demo Memo analysis of the Census Bureau's 2016 county population estimates by Rural-Urban Continuum (RUC). Counties in smaller metros grew at a slower rate, and those in rural areas lost population. Both international and domestic migration contributed to the faster growth of big-city counties...

International migration is greater in big-city counties. Between 2010 and 2016, the rate of net international migration was 2.6 percent in counties ranking 1 on the Rural-Urban Continuum. Although international migration was positive in every type of county, the rate was lower in less urban counties and lowest (only 0.3 percent) in the most rural counties—those ranking 8 or 9 on the RUC.

Domestic migration is positive only in big-city counties. Between 2010 and 2016, the rate of net domestic migration was positive only for counties ranking 1 or 2 on the Rural-Urban Continuum. Nonmetropolitan counties (those ranking 4 or higher on the RUC) had a negative rate of net domestic migration, meaning they lost more people than they gained.

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes and Census Bureau, County Population Totals Datasets: 2010–2016

Jobs with Heavy Lifting

Many jobs in the U.S. require physical strength. The Bureau of Labor Statistics defines "heavy work" as jobs that require workers to constantly lift/carry at least 11 pounds, frequently lift/carry at least 26 pounds, or occasionally lift/carry 51 or more pounds. Overall, 14 percent of jobs require heavy work.

The occupations with the largest percentage of jobs requiring heavy work are the usual suspects—construction and extraction (45.5%); installation, maintenance, and repair (35.4%); and transportation and material moving (32.3%). A substantial 22 percent of workers in health support occupations are required to do heavy lifting.

At the other extreme, 13 percent of jobs are sedentary, requiring no heavy lifting nor much walking or standing. The occupations with the largest percentage of sedentary jobs are legal (40.3%), office and administrative support (31.1%), and management (27.5%). Among architecture and engineering occupations as well as community and social service, a substantial 25 percent of jobs are sedentary.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Physical Strength Required for Jobs in Different Occupations in 2016

Americans Don't Know Much about the ACA

Americans are really confused about the Affordable Care Act. A survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows just how confused they are. Kaiser says these are the five biggest misconceptions...

1. Most do not know that the ACA reduced the percentage of Americans without health insurance. The 57 percent majority thinks the ACA increased the uninsured or had no effect on the number. In fact, the ACA reduced the uninsured to an historic low. 
2. Half says the ACA covers undocumented immigrants. It does not.
3. Half does not know that the ACA eliminated out-of-pocket costs for birth control, annual checkups, well-child visits and vaccinations. 
4. Forty percent of the public think the ACA cut Medicare benefits. It did not.
5. 29 percent of the public think most Americans get their health insurance through the ACA. In fact, only 10 percent of Americans are covered by ACA marketplace plans. Most Americans have employer-provided health insurance coverage.

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation, Data Note: 5 Misconceptions Surrounding the ACA

Many Workers Are Looking for a Better Job

The findings from a survey on job search behavior should worry the nation's employers. Many of their employees are actively looking for a better job.

Using data from a labor market supplement to the New York Fed's Survey of Consumer Expectations, researchers analyzed the job search behavior of 18-to-64-year-olds by employment status. Overall, 23 percent of employed workers had actively looked for another job in the previous four weeks, submitting an average of 4.58 job applications and receiving 0.43 job offers. Not only were a substantial percentage of employed workers actively looking for a better job, but they received more job offers than the unemployed, despite submitting fewer applications. The unemployed submitted an average of 8.08 applications in the previous four weeks and received 0.38 job offers.

Being employed, it seems, is a big advantage in the job hunt. "The job search process is more effective for currently employed workers than for the unemployed," the researchers conclude. Not only are the employed more likely to receive job offers, but they receive better offers: "Offers received by employed workers are better than those received by the unemployed. This is true even after controlling for detailed worker characteristics and prior work history."

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Liberty Street Economics, How Do People Find Jobs?

Decline in "Marriageable" Young Men

Marriage rates have fallen among younger adults over the past few decades, but they've fallen the most among the least educated. What is behind the disproportionate decline? NBER researchers answer that question by testing a hypothesis: marriage rates are down the most among the least-educated (high school or less education) because the supply of "marriageable" men has dried up.

The results confirm the hypothesis. The researchers uncover a hot mess of consequences in the aggregate and in local areas that have experienced adverse shocks in manufacturing employment over the past few decades, including...

• a decline in male and female employment
• a decline in men's relative earnings, especially among lower-income men
• an increase in men's mortality from risky and unhealthful behaviors
• a reduction in the availability of marriage-age males in affected labor markets
• a reduction in the percentage of young adults getting married
• a decline in fertility
• an increase in the percentage of births to teen and unmarried mothers
• an increase in the percentage of children living in poverty

Bottom line: "We conclude that the declining employment and earnings opportunities faced by young (i.e. under 40) U.S. males are a plausible contributor to the changing structure of marriage and childbirth in the United States."

Source: National Bureau of Economic Research, When Work Disappears: Manufacturing Decline and the Falling Marriage-Market Value of Men, Working Paper 23173 ($5)

Majority: Nothing Wrong with Gay, Lesbian Relationships

What a difference a decade makes. The percentage of Americans who think gay and lesbian relationships are "not wrong at all" climbed from just 32 percent in 2006 to the 51 percent majority in 2016, according to the General Social Survey.

Although every generation has contributed to the growing acceptance of same-sex relationships, the biggest driver of the increase is the surge in support among Millennials. The percentage of Millennials who think there's nothing wrong at all with gay and lesbian relationships climbed 27 percentage points during the decade, from 41 to 68 percent.

Support among Generation Xers grew the least over the decade (up only 9 percentage points). In 2016, still fewer than half of Gen Xers were in the "nothing wrong at all" camp. Same story for Boomers. Approval of same-sex relationships among the oldest Americans (aged 61 or older in 2006 and aged 71 or older in 2016) nearly doubled during the decade. But only about one-third of the oldest Americans see nothing wrong at all with same-sex sexual relationships.

"Nothing wrong at all" with same-sex sexual relationships, 2016 (and 2006)
Millennials: 68% (41%)
Gen Xers: 46% (37%)
Boomers: 44% (32%)
Older: 34% (18%)

Source: Demo Memo analysis of the 2006 and 2016 General Social Surveys

Average Earnings of Female Workers by Education

Among women aged 18 or older with earnings, the average amount earned in 2015 was $39,929, according to the Census Bureau. This is how women's average earnings compare by educational attainment...

$17,162 for those who did not graduate from high school
$26,832 for those with a high school diploma only
$31,970 for those with some college/associate's degree
$50,856 for those with a bachelor's degree only
$72,006 for those with an advanced degree

Source: Census Bureau, Educational Attainment in the United States: 2016

Legalize Marijuana? Most Say Yes

Among all Americans aged 18 or older, fully 60.1 percent support legalizing the use of marijuana, according to the 2016 General Social Survey. The majority of all but the oldest Americans supports legalization...

Support legalizing marijuana
Millennials: 68.3%
Gen Xers: 56.8%
Boomers: 59.2%
Older: 37.4%

Source: Demo Memo analysis of the 2016 General Social Survey

Internet Overtakes TV as Main Source of News

Write this one down for the history books. The main source of news for the largest share of the public is now the internet, supplanting television in 2016 for the first time, according to the General Social Survey. Here's the trend since 2010...

Percent who say internet/television is their main source of information about events in the news
2016: 46% internet versus 37% TV
2014: 35% internet versus 45% TV
2012: 30% internet versus 48% TV
2010: 22% internet versus 49% TV

Source: Demo Memo analysis of the General Social Survey

Expected Age of Retirement

More than one-third of American workers do not expect to retire until age 70 or later, according to the 2017 Retirement Confidence Survey. Only 4 percent of current retirees worked that long.

Expected age of retirement for workers (and actual age of retirement for retirees)
Under age 60:    9% (39%)
Aged 60 to 64: 17% (37%)
Aged 65 to 69: 37% (19%)
Aged 70-plus:  38% (  4%)

Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute, 2017 Retirement Confidence Survey

How Many Are Grandparents?

The Census Bureau's 2014 Survey of Income and Program Participation included several questions rarely asked by the federal government...

Are you a grandparent? Turns out, being a grandparent is the norm among Americans aged 30 or older who have children aged 15 or older: 61 percent of women and 57 percent of men who meet those qualifications are grandparents.

Do you have children with multiple partners? Among all Americans aged 15 or older, 10.1 percent have children with multiple partners. Among parents aged 15 or older with two or more biological children, 20.6 percent have children with multiple partners.

Have you had children with someone other than your spouse/partner? Among married mothers aged 15 or older who do not have children with their spouse, 17.8 percent have children from a prior relationship and 12.8 percent say their spouse has children from a prior relationship. Among married fathers aged 15 or older, the equivalent figures are 16.5 and 12.6 percent. Among cohabiting parents, the percentages are much larger (50 and 32 percent for women, and 47 and 33 percent for men).

Source: Census Bureau, Fertility Research Brief and Multiple Partner Fertility Research Brief

Average Earnings of Male Workers by Education

Among men aged 18 or older with earnings, the average amount earned in 2015 was $58,944, according to the Census Bureau. This is how men's average earnings compare by educational attainment...

$30,230 for those who did not graduate from high school
$41,942 for those with a high school diploma only
$46,154 for those with some college/associate's degree
$79,927 for those with a bachelor's degree
$113,279 for those with an advanced degree

Source: Census Bureau, Educational Attainment in the United States: 2016