This story was originally published in Builder.

Everybody hates Millennials. They're overly sensitive, not ambitious, and can't carry on conversations except over social media. However, crazy at this seems, this generation might just save the national economy.

How do we know this? The data can be found here.

Fit Small Business, an online publication serving small business owners, compiled publicly-available data from such influential sources as Fannie Mae, the National Association of Home Builders, and Pew Research Center – to name a few – and thoroughly analyzed it to determine that Millennials are the key to transforming and ultimately, saving the national economy.

5 Ways Millennials Are Saving the National Economy:

  1. Buying More Homes – Home ownership has been plummeting for a decade. Recently stabilized, many experts agree the worst is probably behind us, and it's Millennials who are finally becoming the #1 players in the housing market.
  2. Buying More Cars – While the auto industry suffered tremendously during the 2008 bailout, almost a decade later, the industry has managed to post increases in sales for a record seven straight years. Millennials are a major contributor to that unprecedented run.
  3. Having More Kids – The country's birthrate has been steadily declining since the 1960s, a worrisome fact that has a negative effect on the overall economy. More babies translate to a big rise in expenses, and leads to a bigger increase in spending (think retail: baby clothes, toys, etc..). Millennial women are becoming moms for the first time – and according to research: 1.3 millennial women gave birth for the first time in 2015. The economy is bound to benefit, according to the analysis from Fit Small Business.
  4. Replacing Aging Workers – As Baby Boomers abandon the workforce in a massive retirement exodus, they leave a gap that GenXers simply can't fill because that generation doesn't have the numbers. Enter the Millennials. Millennials now occupy over one third of the country's workforce, according to research - taking jobs such as food servers, managers, interns, sales associates and cashiers.
  5. Spending Much More and More Wisely Than Previous Generations – Millennials' projected income is expected to reach approximately $3.39 trillion by next year (2018). By that time, their income will overshadow the Boomers, and will linger near that Generation X's income. Millennials are careful with loans, have lower credit card debt compared to other generations, and love to buy local.

"There are some major misconceptions about Millennials, and they've gotten a bad reputation for a while," said Priyanka Prakash, managing editor for Fit Small Business. "While Millennials may possess specific personality characteristics, they are contributing to the economy in a big way. Our research and analysis demonstrate that, with their growing income, big-ticket purchases, and dedication to minimizing debt, this generation will be more than poised to save and grow the national economy."

This story was originally published in Builder.