Washington ? Squeezed by a tight job market, young Americans are especially struggling. They have suffered bigger income losses than other age groups and are less likely to be employed than at any time since World War II.

An analysis by the Pew Research Center, released Thursday, details the impact of the recent recession on the attitudes of a generation of mostly 20- and 30-somethings.

With government data showing record gaps in employment between young and old, a Pew survey found that 41 percent of Americans believe that younger adults have been hit harder than any other group, compared with 29 percent who say middle-aged Americans and 24 percent who point to seniors 65 and older.

A wide majority of the public — at least 69 percent — also said it’s more difficult for today’s young adults than their parents’ generation to pay for college, find a job, buy a home or save for the future.

Among young adults ages 18 to 34, only a third rated their financial situation as “excellent” or “good,” compared with 54 percent for seniors age 65 and over. In 2004, before the recession began, about half of both young and older adults rated their own financial situation highly.

“Young workers are on the bottom of the ladder, and during a recession like we’ve had, it’s often hard for them to hold on,” said Kim Parker, associate director of Pew’s Social & Demographic Trends project. She noted that some have been heavily involved in the nationwide “Occupy” protests over economic disparity.

“They are clearly less satisfied with their current circumstances than they were before the recession,” she said. “This may be where some of the anger and frustration being expressed in the Occupy movement is rooted.”

“They have a long way to climb back, and a lot of displaced workers to compete with,” she said.

Still, Parker noted that despite the challenges, young adults were upbeat about the future: only 9 percent said they didn’t think they would ever have enough money to live the life they want, a share unchanged from before the recession. In contrast, 28 percent of adults 35 and older didn’t anticipate making enough in the future.