Youth Unemployment: 15 Percent Of American Youth Out Of School And Work, Study Finds
WASHINGTON -- WASHINGTON (AP) — Almost 6 million young people are
neither in school nor working, according to a study released Monday.
That's almost 15 percent of those aged 16 to 24 who have neither desk
nor job, according to The Opportunity Nation coalition, which wrote the
report.
Other studies have shown that idle young adults are missing
out on a window to build skills they will need later in life or use the
knowledge they acquired in college. Without those experiences, they are
less likely to command higher salaries and more likely to be an economic
drain on their communities.
"This is not a group that we can write off. They just need a chance,"
said Mark Edwards, executive director of the coalition of businesses,
advocacy groups, policy experts and nonprofit organizations dedicated to
increasing economic mobility. "The tendency is to see them as lost
souls and see them as unsavable. They are not."
That's almost 15 percent of those aged 16 to 24 who have neither desk nor job, according to The Opportunity Nation coalition, which wrote the report.
Other studies have shown that idle young adults are missing out on a window to build skills they will need later in life or use the knowledge they acquired in college. Without those experiences, they are less likely to command higher salaries and more likely to be an economic drain on their communities.
"This is not a group that we can write off. They just need a chance," said Mark Edwards, executive director of the coalition of businesses, advocacy groups, policy experts and nonprofit organizations dedicated to increasing economic mobility. "The tendency is to see them as lost souls and see them as unsavable. They are not."
But changing the dynamic is not going to be easy.
READ MORE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/21/youth-unemployment_n_4134358.html