US Economy: Majority Of Parents Believe Their Kids Will Be Worse Off Financially

One of the outgrowths of the pandemic is a bleak outlook on the long-term economy. According to a report Wednesday from the Pew Research Center, almost 70% of American parents believe their children will be worse off financially.

The global assessment surveyed 18,850 adults in 17 countries with major advanced economies. The U.S. ranked sixth in pessimism towards children’s financial futures, tied with Canada and falling behind Japan, France, Italy, Spain and Belgium.

In the past 16 months, children saw their classes transition from their brick-and-mortar schools to the virtual world. As a result, students faced varied challenges, from rising rates of depression and anxiety to the loss of student learning.

These challenges were only made worse by an economic recession brought by pandemic lockdowns and restrictions, CNBC noted.

Though the economy has been recovering, the number of unemployed remains extremely high, with 9.3 million Americans without a job.

"Despite the surprising speed of recovery early on, we are still very far from a strong labor market whose benefits are broadly shared," Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told the Economic Club of New York in February.

Seventy-one percent of Americans view the current national economic situation as bad, according to Pew’s report.