Forum Post: Waning Opportunity for Teens and Young Adults

Today’s job market for teens (16 to 19) and young adults (20 to 24), exacerbated but not caused by the Recession, is the weakest it has been since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began keeping data in 1948. Their rates of employment have fallen since 2000, and while their wages have risen, they have gone up at a much slower pace than for workers older than 25.

In 2010, only 25.9% of teens had jobs, down from 45.2% in 2000. 14.5% of Black teens had jobs, down from 29.8%, and 21% of Hispanics, down from 38.6%. The employment rate for young adults fell from 72.2% of young adults in 2000 to 60.3% in 2010, from 61% to 49.5% of Blacks and from 72.4% to 58.8% of Hispanics.

Median weekly wages for teens rose 16.8% from 2000 to 2010, only 60% of the rate of increase of workers 25 and older (28.4%). For young adults, wages rose 18.5%, 65% of the rate of increase for workers over 25.

The percentage of teens and young adults persistently disconnected from school and work grew to 17.6% in 2010, the highest annual rate since 1994.

37% of young families with children, i.e., parents younger than 30, lived in poverty last year, record, up from 25% in 2000.

28.5% of college graduates under 25 have jobs that do not require a college degree, up from 21.3% in 2000. Their median weekly income has fallen from $560 to $480.

45.9% of college graduates under 25 have jobs that do require a college degree, down from 59.7%. Their median weekly income has risen from $730 in 2000 to $750.