A Third Of Young Americans Without Work

Depending on the age group bracket, the federal government puts youth unemployment at about 20%. It is higher among the poorly educated, blacks, and Hispanics. College educated white young people tend to do better. As is true with all job figures, some states have lower unemployment than others.

Gallup reports that about a third of young Americans do not have jobs–a number at the high end of most estimates. The polling firm reports that

Thirty-two percent of 18- to 29-year-olds in the U.S. workforce were underemployed in April, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment. This is up from 30.1% in March and is slightly higher than the 30.7% of a year ago.

When “under-employment” is taken into account, the majority of younger Americans work less than they would like if they work at all.

Thirty-two percent of 18- to 29-year-olds in the U.S. workforce were underemployed in April, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment. This is up from 30.1% in March and is slightly higher than the 30.7% of a year ago.

The last two months of government unemployment statistics show that the improvement in the number of employed adults has barely crept higher. If the people most likely to be out of work–the young–are effected by this in proportion to their employment level, the situation for them is about to worsen.

The Gallup numbers also bring to mind a topic often discussed in Europe where national unemployment in Greece and Spain are well into double digits. The talk is of a “lost generation” of workers, who, as they enter the workforce later in life than is traditional, will do so at wages which will be historically below those for their age group. The effects of that will be lower than historic consumer spending.

Douglas A. McIntyre