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1 Center for American Progress | America’s 10 Million Unemployed Youth Spell Danger for Future Economic Growth
America’s 10 Million Unemployed Youth Spell Danger for Future Economic Growth
Sarah Ayres June 5, 2013
 Young Americans oday are conroned by an unemploymen crisis unlike any we have seen in recen imes. o say ha hese Americans are having a difficul ime enering oday’s labor marke is an undersaemen. As recen repors have documened, he unemploymen crisis acing young Americans akes many orms, including high school sudens who are having a harder ime finding aferschool jobs,
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 weny-somehings who are increasingly suck in unpaid inernships insead o paying jobs,
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 and college gradu-aes who are setling or low-wage, low-skill jobs such as waiing ables or serving coffee.
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  While each o hese is evidence o he roubles acing young workers, none lays ou he ull scope o he naion’s youh unemploymen crisis. Te realiy is ha youh unem-ploymen is a much bigger problem han lawmakers have acknowledged. According o our analysis, here are more han 10 million Americans under he age o 25 who are cur-renly unable o find ull-ime work󲀔a number greaer han he populaion o New York Ciy, a ciy o abou 8 million people.  As we have writen beore, America’s youh-unemploymen crisis will have serious, enduring coss or individuals, sociey, businesses, and all levels o governmen.
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 A 16.2 percen, he unemploymen rae among Americans ages 16 o 24 is more han wice he unemploymen rae or people o all ages.
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 Tese young people are acing significanly higher raes o unemploymen han any oher age group, as Figure 1 below shows.Some o he negaive impacs o high youh unemploymen are already clear: Young people are increasingly ailing o make paymens on heir suden loans, delaying saving or reiremen, and moving back home wih heir parens.
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 Oher consequences will  be el long ino he uure. According o our analysis, a young person who experiences a six-monh period o unemploymen can expec o miss ou on a leas $45,000 in  wages󲀔abou $23,000 or he period o unemploymen and an addiional $22,000 in lagging wages over he nex decade due o heir ime spen unemployed.
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2 Center for American Progress | America’s 10 Million Unemployed Youth Spell Danger for Future Economic Growth
Businesses will consequenly suffer rom reduced consumer demand, and axpayers will eel he impac in he orm o los revenues, greaer demand or more govern-men-provided services such as healh care, increased crime, and more welare paymens.
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 Tere is no quesion ha lawmakers mus enac broad job-creaion measures o reduce overall unem-ploymen and ge our economy  back on rack. Bu because youh unemploymen is disproporion-aely high and is consequences especially long lasing, any such measures should emphasize ge-ing young people back o work.In order or lawmakers o craf policies o do so, i is imporan o undersand he di-eren caegories o young people ha make up America’s unemployed youh. A high school suden in need o a par-ime job is in a very differen posiion han a college graduae suck in an unpaid inernship, and his variaion in circumsances will likely require differen policy approaches o ge boh young Americans back o work. In his brie we analyze daa rom he U.S. Bureau o Labor Saisics’ Curren Populaion Survey and find ha here are 10.6 million Americans under he age o 25  who are no ully employed󲀔more people han live in he mos-populaed ciy in he counry. Specifically, his brie will explore he wo groups o people who make up  America’s young unemployed demographic:2.5 million eens ages 16 o 19 who are eiher ou o work or underemployed8.2 million young aduls ages 20 o 24 who are eiher ou o work or underemployedFinally, his brie will explore he challenges acing young college graduaes, who are experiencing high unemploymen, low-qualiy jobs, and declining wages.
2.5 million teens are out of work or underemployed
Tere are 2.5 million Americans ages 16 o 19 who are ou o work or underemployed. Tis group includes eens who are employed par ime when hey would raher be work-
FIGURE 1
Young Americans are unemployed at about twice the rate of older workers
0%5%10%15%20%25%1619 2024 2529 3024 354 4554 5564 Total22.5%12.5%7.8%6.4%5.6%5.2% 5.1%7.5%Unemployment rate
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Current Population Survey” (2013).
 
3 Center for American Progress | America’s 10 Million Unemployed Youth Spell Danger for Future Economic Growth
ing ull ime, eens who are enrolled in school while acively seeking employmen, and eens who are neiher working nor enrolled in school. (see Figure 2)O hese 2.5 million eenagers, nearly 300,000 are employed par ime  bu are seeking ull-ime work. Tis means ha hey wan a ull-ime  job, bu are no working ull ime because heir employer cu back heir hours or hey could only find par-ime work.
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 Tis group is no included in he official unemploymen rae, bu because hey are no  working o he ull exen ha hey desire, i is also an indicaor o jus how difficul he labor marke is or eens oday. Anoher 728,000 eenagers are enrolled in school bu are unemployed and acively seeking employmen. Members o his group could include a 16-year-old high school suden looking or an aferschool  job a he mall, or a 19-year-old single moher who needs a ull-ime  job during he day while atending communiy college a nigh. Unemploymen is clearly a problem or he later because she would need o provide or her amily while also bolsering her educaion credenials, bu i is also a problem or he ormer because aferschool  jobs can play an imporan role in eens’ developmen. More han jus providing eens wih spending money, aferschool jobs can also help eens develop sof skills such as ineracing wih co-workers and ime managemen, along wih helping hem explore career opions.
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 Finally, 1.4 million eens encompass a group ha social scieniss someimes reer o as “disconneced,” which means hey are neiher enrolled in school nor working. Tis group is paricularly worrisome  because hese eens are no accumulaing human capial in he orm o eiher educaion or work experience, he loss o which will hinder heir employmen opporuniies, social mobiliy, and income in he uure.
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 Wihou school or work, research has demonsraed ha eens are more likely o become involved in crime and o rely on pub-lic assisance and governmen healh care.
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  Abou hal o disconneced eens have dropped ou o high school  wihou making he ransiion o a job. Anoher hal have compleed high school bu have no been able o ranslae heir educaion ino  work or urher schooling. Tese acs sugges ha addressing unem-ploymen among eens may require effors o keep eens in school, as well as measures o improve he ransiion rom high school o employmen and raining.
FIGURE 2
2.5 million teens are out of work or underemployed
In thousands
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Current Population Survey.
Enrolled in school while actively seeking employmentNeither working nor enrolled in schoolEmployed part time but seeking full-time work 
2.5 million
2947281,431
High school diplomaor equivalentNo high school diplomaSome college but no degree
1.4 million
122647652
Bachelor’s or associate degree
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FIGURE 3
Nearly half of all disconnected teens never graduated from high school
In thousands
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Current Population Survey.

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