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A potentially worrisome trend is emerging among young adults. Instead of landing a job and moving to the big city after graduation, many are moving back into their childhood homes instead. About 1.5 million more adults under 35 live with their parents today than a decade ago. Thats a 6.3% jump, more than double the rate of growth for the young adult population overall. The issue is affordability. Over the past decade, urban rents have climbed about 4% per year, while wages for full-time workers have increased by only 0.6% annually. That means its harder than ever to live in a big city on the typical salaryespecially if youre a new graduate without much work experience. The situation is even more challenging for aspiring homeowners: The median house price in the U.S. has risen about 90% in just 10 years, or more than 6% each year. And as prices risethe median home sells for more than $400,000 nowso too do the ages of homebuyers. The median first-time U.S. homebuyer is 38 years old, up from 31 about a decade ago. Why is the rent so high? Put simply, there isnt enough housing. As an economist, I know that when demand rises faster than supply, prices have to increase. And supply is severely limited in the places where people most want to live: big cities such as New York and San Francisco. In most of these cities, planning and zoning laws prevent developers from building enough to meet demand. For example, rezoning a plot of land from commercial to residential often requires mountains of paperwork. And in many cities, objections from neighbors can stall a proposed development. These are just two of many obstacles local governments throw in homebuilders way. One city that has tried something different is Austin, Texas. After deliberately relaxing its zoning laws a few years ago, Austin has seen a boom in home construction. Rents fell by 10% in one year and by as much as 22% in two years after that change. By making it easier to build, Austin has made it cheaper to live there. I dont think its a coincidence that Austin has a far lower share of its young adults living with their parents than many other cities do. Just 6% of working adults in the Austin metro area live with their parents, one analysis found, versus nearly 14% in Greater San Antonio and 20% in Greater Los Angeles. The pros and cons of living with the rents One obvious advantage of living with parents is that they tend to charge below-market rents, or nothing at all. That makes it easier to save for a deposit on a house, helping young adults get on the property ladder sooner than they would otherwise. Indeed, homeownership rates among those 25 to 34 have risen slightly since 2016. There are also potential disadvantages, however, particularly when it comes to socializing. Living at home with parents can make it much more challenging to meet new people. This, in turn, could partly help explain why Americans are getting married and having children later in life. These delays might not seem important, but they can leave people feeling like theyre behind in life, which can affect their health and well-being. I also wonder whether living with parents is indirectly making young adults unhappier at work. Thats because older adults often live far from the urban centers where young people are most likely to find jobs directly related to their degrees. Job satisfaction rates are substantially lower among 18- to 29-year-olds than among the rest of the working population. A problem for the entire U.S. The housing shortage isnt just an issue for young adults. A recent analysis I found insightful was headlined The housing theory of everything. It argued that the issue helps explain at least part of the current malaise in the U.S. economy. For example, when people cant live and work where they want, theyre unable to use their talents fully. That contributes to the relatively slow productivity growth the U.S. has experienced in recent years. Similarly, if people cant live in areas where they might meet and work with like-minded individuals, they have fewer opportunities to share ideas, which can hinder innovation. And if the housing shortage is indeed encouraging young adults to delay having children, it could make it harder for the U.S. to fund Social Security and other government programs in the future. Making it easier to build new homes in places people want to live and work could go a long way to easing these problems. Its possible high rents translate into high barriers to adulthood, too. Rohan Shah is assistan professor of economics at the University of Mississippi; Institute for Humane Studies This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Yet another food retailer has joined the growing list of companies that have recalled pasta-related products over the last few weeks. Sprouts Farmers Market, a supermarket chain headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, with stores across more than two dozen states, has voluntarily recalled select lots of Sprouts Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad due to a risk of contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. On October 9, a recall notice was published to the website of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). To date, no illnesses have been reported in connection with this recalled product. According to the notice, the recall is in response to Sprouts being alerted by its supplier, Fresh Creative Foods, that the pasta within the pasta salad could potentially be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Fast Company has reached out to Fresh Creative Foods for comment. Which products are impacted by the recall? The affected lots of Sprouts Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad were packaged in plastic containers and sold from the “grab and go” section of stores or packaged directly from in-store deli service counters. Here are the specific product details: Grab and go: Sprouts Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad (UPC 2-15786-00000): Best use by dates from October 10, 2025, to October 29, 2025. Deli service counter: Sprouts Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad (UPC 2-15587-00000): Best use by dates from October 10, 2025, to October 29, 2025. The affected items were sold in the following states: Alabama Arizona California Colorado Delaware Florida Georgia Kansas Louisiana Maryland Missouri North Carolina New Jersey New Mexico Nevada Oklahoma Pennsylvania South Carolina Tennessee Texas Utah Virginia Washington Wyoming Dont eat the affected product If you purchased the affected product, you should throw it away or return it to your local store for a full refund. To reduce the risk of cross-contamination, the FDA recommends taking extra care to clean and sanitize any surfaces or containers that have come into contact with the product. If you have any questions about the recall, call Sprouts Customer Relations at 480-814-8016 or submit a form at the Sprouts website. The list of retailers recalling pasta products is growing Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a food safety alert regarding a Listeria outbreak linked to prepared pasta meals. According to the CDC, the outbreak has hit 15 states. It has sickened 20 people, with 19 requiring hospitalization. Four people have died due to the outbreak, which dates back to last year. Sprouts is one of many retailers that have voluntarily recalled ready-to-eat pasta products in the weeks following the CDC’s alert, although the notice does not mention the outbreak. Here are some other recent pasta-related recalls to be aware of: Ready-to-eat pasta meals from Trader Joes, Kroger, and Walmart More pasta meals sold at Albertsons and Trader Joes Kroger pasta salads What is Listeria and who is at risk of infection? Listeria is a disease-causing bacteria that can be spread to and from foods. Listeria infection is caused by eating food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. As the Mayo Clinic notes, healthy people rarely become very ill from Listeria infection. However, the disease can turn deadly for some. Pregnant women, adults 65 and older, and people with weakened immune systems are more at risk for infection.
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E-Commerce
Abu Dhabi carrier Etihad said Friday it is launching flights to Kabul, making it the latest airline to offer direct routes to the Afghan capital.Etihad, which announced a record $476 million profit in 2024, said the new service responded to “growing demand” for travel between the United Arab Emirates and Afghanistan and that the three weekly flights starting in December would support “trade, travel, and community ties.”“The UAE hosts one of the largest Afghan communities in the Gulf, with around 300,000 Afghans living and working in the country, according to the Afghan Business Council,” the airline said in a statement. “The new flights will further strengthen these economic and social ties while enhancing connectivity through Abu Dhabi.”Other international carriers flying direct to Kabul include Turkish Airlines and FlyDubai.The oil-rich UAE has forged close ties with the Taliban-led government of Afghanistan in recent years.In June 2024, the Emirati leader, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, met a top official and Cabinet member, Sirajuddin Haqqani, who had a U.S. bounty on his head over his involvement in an attack that killed an American citizen and other assaults.A few months later, the UAE accepted the credentials of a Taliban government ambassador.Even though the Taliban are largely isolated from the West, due to their restrictions on women and girls, they have successfully established bilateral relations with regional powers.In July, Russia became the first country to recognize them as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. And, on Friday, India said it was upgrading its technical mission in Kabul to a full embassy. Associated Press
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