‘NEETS’ and ‘new unemployables’ — why some young adults aren’t working

* Although the unemployment rate is just 4%, there is a growing share of young adults not working.

* Others, referred to as “new unemployables,” are struggling to find employment despite their best efforts.

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.

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.

I have done accounting since 1957.

BETCHA I could carve down many items today’s young people think Are “NECESSARY” when they really are not.

GIVE ME 3 hours to review ALL the ITEMS they spend $$$ on, I can show them.

The biggest issue-—THEY DO NOT KNOW WHERE THEY SPEND EVERY PENNY-—They are IMPULSE buyers & also FOMO buyers. FEAR OF MISSING OUT-—SO THEY have to have what everyone else says they have.

I bought ONE new car in my entire life-—1965 Pontiac wagon...Put OVER 444,000 miles on it & sold it in 1995. SAME ENGINE. GOT around 18 MPG on open road.

I bought a used car in August 1981 with 55,000 miles—$3500.
Now has 223,000 miles +.

If I had followed the “new car every 4 years or so attitudes”-—I would have changed cars about 10-11 times. IF a new car kept costing MORE-—say an average of $8,000 more-—I would have easily spent $80,000 +++ on vehicles. I DIDN’T DO THAT.

Bought a 1 ton truck in April 1986 to tow my horses. $4000 with 90,000 miles on it. NOW it has over 348,000 miles on the chassis & I still drive it. Different engine-—But I PUT OVER 250,000 miles on it—TOWING. IT is a WORKHORSE. NEW trucks are over $80,000 & I do not want even a ‘free ‘one.

KIDS today spend $$$$ like water. WRONG MOVES.

"that’s 2 taxable incomes per family. that drives up costs of everything."

About 40 years ago, my economics professor would've agreed with you. He said when more families became headed by two working parents, the higher household income led to higher prices.

"women are expected to work now, and are deemed slouches for not bringing enough to the table if they choose to raise their own children and work at being a wife and mother."

So true... Two and three generations ago, women with children worked when the family needed money. By my generation, men expected their wives to work when they had newborns at home, even when the men earned enough to support the family. Women took a short maternity leave (about 6 weeks) to recover from the birth. Today, young men take paternity leave. I have nothing against paternity leave, but it's interesting how attitudes changed from protecting new mothers, to expecting new mothers to return to work a few weeks after giving birth, to now giving new fathers 12 weeks off.

About a year ago, I came across a NEET discussion online, and one man’s situation was dire. He was in his late 20’s, and he said he had some kind of condition that affected his appearance. When he was young, he dropped out of high school, and he never had a job. He and his parents were very close, but then, his father died, and his mother lost the house. She put all their family possessions in storage, and he moved with her into someone’s rundown place. Then, his mother died unexpectedly. So, he had no work experience. He had no friends. He didn’t have a driver’s license. He had pretty much no education. He’d spent his adult life playing videogames. Now, he had no family and no possessions, either, because, it turned out, his mother had stopped paying the storage fees. Even the family photos were gone. He also had no identification. So, he had to start from scratch all alone. What was interesting was that he got right out there and started figuring things out right away. I can’t say for sure his story was true, but it sounded credible.

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