The news-times says data from the Census Bureau shows 36.5 million people, 12 percent of the population, moved to a new home this year, up from a record low of 11.6 percent in 2011. The most mobile group, young men 25-29, are moving out of their parents’ home, either returning to school or feeling confident about their job prospects, even though the unemployment rate remains stubbornly stuck. Andrew Cherlin, a professor of sociology and public policy at Johns Hopkins University, says, “We may be seeing the beginning of the American family’s recovery from the Great Recession. It could be the modest number of new jobs or simply the belief that the worst is over,” he adds. As MHProNews has learned, the picture remains mixed, however: Homeownership dropped last year to its lowest rate in over a decade, 64.6 percent; more Americans are using food stamps than ever before; and data released this week by the Conference Board’s Index of Leading Economic Indicators, which forecasts future economic activity, dropped 0.1 percent in August, after rising 0.5 percent in July. Harvard University Economist Richard Freeman said the data points to “a fragile recovery.”
