Posted on 07/03/2024 5:48:09 AM PDT by Red Badger
KEY POINTS
* Although the unemployment rate is just 4%, there is a growing share of young adults not working.
* “NEETS” are opting out of the labor force by choice.
* Others, referred to as “new unemployables,” are struggling to find employment despite their best efforts.
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Although the unemployment rate has spent 30 months at or below below 4% — a near record — not everyone who wants a job has one. And not everyone even wants a job at all.
Some, referred to as “NEETs,” which stands for “not in employment, education, or training,” are opting out of the labor force largely because they are discouraged by their economic standing.
Others, alternatively, are well-qualified but often younger candidates who are struggling to find positions, comprising a contingent of “new unemployables,” according to a recent report by Korn Ferry.
Among 16- to 24-year-olds, the unemployment rate rose to 9% in May, which is “typical,” according to Alí Bustamante, a labor economist and director of the Worker Power and Economic Security program at the Roosevelt Institute, a liberal think tank based in New York City.
Although the youth unemployment rate fell below 7% in 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, such lows were “emblematic of how hot the labor market was at that point,” Bustamante said.
“9% is basically what we should be expecting during relatively good economic times for younger workers,” he added.
‘NEETS’ feel ‘left out and left behind’ Still, some young adults in the U.S. are neither working nor learning new skills.
In 2023, about 11.2% of young adults ages 15 to 24 in the U.S. were considered as NEETs, according to the International Labour Organization.
In other words, roughly one in 10 young people are “being left out and left behind in many ways,” Bustamante said.
Even though “that’s typically the norm,” he said, “we should be expecting these rates to be lower.”
Young men, especially, are increasingly disengaged, according to Julia Pollak, a labor economist at ZipRecruiter.
“The NEET trend is mostly a male phenomenon,” she said.
Pollak explained that’s in part due to declining opportunities in traditionally male occupations, such as construction and manufacturing, while “women’s enrollment in schooling, education outcomes, and employment outcomes have mostly trended upwards.”
‘Talent hoarding’ has led to ‘new unemployables’ According to Korn Ferry’s report, a “perfect storm” has also created a glut of “new unemployables,” or highly trained workers who struggle to find job opportunities.
“Employers are holding on to the talent they have and increasingly focusing on talent mobility,” said David Ellis, senior vice president for global talent acquisition transformation at Korn Ferry.
This “talent hoarding” has led to fewer available job openings even for well-qualified candidates, he said.
At the same time, firms are scaling back on new hires, limiting the opportunities at the entry level, as well.
While the teen employment rate is the highest it has been in over a decade, early 20-somethings are struggling to find jobs, Pollak said. “It’s the 20- to 24-year-olds that saw a massive drop off in the labor force participation during the pandemic, and who have lagged behind ever since.”
Overall, hiring projections for the class of 2024 fell 5.8% from last year, according to a report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, or NACE.
As more candidates compete for fewer positions, stretches of unemployment are also lengthening. Now, the number of people unemployed for longer than six months is up 21%, Korn Ferry found.
‘Unemployable’ to employable Despite those trends in the job market, “all is not lost,” Ellis said.
“Don’t wait to reach out,” he advised. Get back in touch with former employers or colleagues through LinkedIn or email and set up informational interviews. After that initial approach, ask for any job leads or contacts.
In the meantime, make yourself more visible by writing about noteworthy topics in the industry and updating your resume to include keywords and so-called “title tags,” which highlight important elements at the top.
Finally, don’t limit yourself to roles that include a promotion or a raise, Ellis also advised. Rather, aim for a “career lattice,” which could entail taking lower position to gain skills that will pay dividends later.
Unemployment numbers have always been BS! Not in the system? You don’t count.
Looking for workers but many who want a job doesn’t want the ‘work’ that goes with it.
I’m old enough to remember when all young American men were inspired and motivated to work toward a fulfilling life and being the king of his even-if-humble castle through being a breadwinner, marrying, and raising a nice little family.
Even college grads are expecting six figure salaries before the ink is dry on their sheepskin............
We have to have cutesie names or acronyms for everything. NEETS is so much better than “slacker losers”
Yes they are BS.
Primarily because they base the numbers on surveys and not real numbers from the state officials............
boys stay home cuz mommy! lets them.
Since I started delivering newspapers in 1976 at that age of 14, I have never been without at least one job. For much of my life, I had two jobs going.
I never really had a choice. From an early age, I had a family and household to support. If I didn't get my paycheck, the mortgage or rent didn't get paid and my children would not have food to eat.
Public assistance was just not available to young people back then unless you were maybe an unwed mother. With young men, there would have been a real social stigma to being on the government dole.
what a sad generation.
I prefer “Ignorant Lazy Mouth Breathers”..........
No daddy in sight........................
Maybe teaching students in government schools that they are oppressors and victims won’t workout for the better. Whomever would have thought...
You got something where I come in on Friday for an hour or so to pick up my check?
Video game playing, Tik-Tok challenging, Vaping and Tide Pod Eating are not marketable skills.............
Hmmm. It does have a nice ring to it
I’m willing to bet that the majority of those who refuse to work come from fatherless homes.
Men, real men, are essential for a family, society, and civilization to survive.
That’s why the Left has driven men from the home, resulting in generations of father-less, rudder-less children.......................
Not sure the state ‘officials’ get real numbers.
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