Big jump in US young adults leaving parents' homes

WASHINGTON (AP) - Their lives on hold for years, young adults in the United States (US) are now making big moves in the fledgling economic recovery, leaving college towns or parents' homes and heading out of state at the highest rate in 13 years.

New census data released on Thursday offer a detailed look at US migration as mobility begins to revive after sliding to a record low last year.

The latest numbers show that young adults 25-29 are the primary out-of-state movers as they test the job market in urban, high-tech meccas such as Washington, DC; Seattle; and Austin, Texas.

In contrast, groups that showed some of the most movement in the housing boom of the last decade, working professionals, families and would-be retirees, are still mostly locked in place, their out-of-state migration levels stuck at near lows due to underwater mortgages and shrunken retirement portfolios.