Decline in Work and Schooling for US Youth

A recent study provided by the Measure of America shows some interesting details on the increasing number of youth that have become disconnected. Disconnected in this sense, however, refers to youth who are not attending school and are also not employed. The increase has continued to occur ever since the 2007-2008 economic crises which caused the economy in the United States to falter.

The study generally focuses on youth who are between the ages of 16 through 24 and basically provides insight on what is going on with these youth as they start to reach an age where social independence is going to take place. The aim of this study is to also show details on the fact that certain families living in specific conditions often lack the opportunity and resources to transition properly from childhood to adulthood.

The study found that a total of around 14.7 percent of young adults are socially disconnected because they are neither employed nor are they receiving any type of education or schooling. The MoA report claims that youth disconnection is much about being excluding and receiving limited education. The study did not include youth individuals who were employed on a part-time basis.

The study also measured the disconnected youth by race and found that a total of 22.5 percent of African-American youth were disconnected while 18.5 percent of the disconnected youth were Latino. White youth was at 11.7 percent while Asian youth was at 8 percent. The young women who were often disconnected were typically young mothers.

Varying from city to city, the largest level of youth disconnection took place in the city of Phoenix, located in the state of Arizona. In that area, a total of 1 in every 5 youth is not attending school and not holding down a job either. Young motherhood was also a fairly common sight in this area and is at two times the amount of least affected area, which happens to be Boston, Massachusetts.

The report also provided some information that most already could expect. The Great Recession, which started in 2007 and ended in 2009, has created more difficulties for these youth, especially those who were already struggling prior to the start of the recession. The troubling news behind this information, aside from the fact that youth are having a harder time attending school or finding employment, is the fact that the suicide rate amongst youth have increased in areas all around. A significant amount of youth around the country is suffering and this could be the reason why incidents of suicide have actually increased.