This is kind of an unhelpful statistic. Thanks to extended adolescence and over education many Americans don’t really start working until their mid to late 20s. So the fact that younger workers have no savings doesn’t say much about the economy. It also ignores social security. Even if you earn $15,000 a year, so long as you work 35 years, social security will keep you around the poverty level. It also ignores pensions, which 13% of workers (and almost a quarter of baby boomers) are entitled to receive.