SOME plan novels, hiding away in their rooms. Others tutor teenagers, in need of help with their maths homework. The life of a twenty-something living at home is not always glamorous. A difficult job market since the financial crisis has stalled youthful efforts to move on up the pay-scale and, crucially, to move on out of the parental domain. Analysis released in the past week by Britain’s Office for National Statistics suggests that more than 26% of people aged between 20 and 34 live with their parents. 3.3m young Brits of the “millennial generation” are currently enjoying the delights of home-cooked food and tidy bedrooms—669,000 more than in 1996. Circumstances are perhaps worse across the pond: 36% Americans of a similar age group, those aged 18-31, also dwell with mom and pop (but this estimate, it should be noted, includes students).

Times are tough for millenials: many earn less than their peers did before the financial crisis, while those paying rent are also paying more. Cassandra delights in Lena Dunham’s series “Girls”, which, while funny, has drawn interesting attention to the plight of youngsters trying to make it in big cities such as New York.

2014 may be a welcome year of change, at least for those with a degree. A recent survey of Britain’s top 100 graduate employers, for example, suggests that around 1,400 more people this year will be hired fresh from university than were last year.

The 8.7% rise in jobs on offer (the largest in four years) has been driven both by firms (such as Deloitte, Google and British Airways) and by the public sector. Teach First’s charitable scheme to get graduates teaching in tough schools is proving popular: it is now the single largest recruiter of young talent and has 1,550 vacancies.

While the ethics of internships are hotly debated, the rise in the number of jobs also comes at a time when employers are offering more such placements to students. A system that encourages trying before buying, as it were, may finally be starting to pay off for young people.

Better news for the global economy in recent days may also herald better job prospects for youth around the world. On Tuesday the International Monetary Fund, encouraged by news from America, Japan and the euro zone, raised its global growth forecast for 2014 by 0.1 percentage point, to 3.7%. That fractional increase may soon mean more childhood bedrooms, with ancient teddies and decrepit posters, are vacated by millenials with new employment elsewhere.