The last time a serious economic downturn hit in 2008, Evan Schade was in high school and the crisis seemed like a news event that happened to other people. This time, as the coronavirus has brought the economy to its knees, it has become a personal affair.

When nonessential businesses were closed last month in Kansas City, Mo., where he lives, Mr. Schade, 26, lost his job at a carpet store and almost all of the shifts in his second job at a coffee shop. His girlfriend, Kaitlyn Gardner, 23, was laid off from a different coffee shop.

The money they have in their bank accounts, just over $1,000, is enough to cover only April’s $800 rent check — forget about his $300 student loan payments or the health insurance he was hoping to finally sign up for. The couple have spent their time at home applying for unemployment and fruitlessly looking for new work.

“I know so many people my age who are going through the exact same thing,” Ms. Gardner said.

The youngest American adults are facing what is, for most of them, the first serious economic crisis of their working lives. By most measures, they are woefully unprepared.