Young Adults Employed or in School
Population age 18‒24 currently employed or in school.
Why did we include this measure?
Formal education is not the only way to develop knowledge, skills, and dispositions. Workplace skills, for example, are learned on the job. Therefore, we also report the percentage of young adults who are either enrolled in a formal education program or working (or both). Those who are neither working nor in school are sometimes called “disconnected” from opportunity.
Another reason for focusing on this measure is that formal education is usually completed by the time people reach their mid-20s, and the prior measure (average years of education) focuses on the population aged 25 to 54. This measure of employed-or-in-school stops instead at age 24 and provides a better sense of the experiences of current young adults who will make up the majority of the workforce in the decades ahead.
How does the US rank globally?
- Specific Measure: (Same as above.)
(Source: Same as above).
- Percentage of countries the US outperforms: 56% (out of 57 countries)
- International Rank Trend: Improving
National Trend Improving
What do the data show?
The percentage of 18- to 24-year-olds who are employed or in school has generally been rising. The number has ranged from a low of about 85% to a high of almost 90% just before COVID.
Internationally, we do not fare as well on this measure as we do with years of education for ages 25 to 54. However, we note that most higher-income countries show very similar numbers on this metric. The countries just above us are generally in the 90‒92% range, compared with our 89%.
What might explain these patterns?
This upward trend is consistent with the rise in average years of education. More students are graduating high school and attending college, which increases both measures. However, the number of young adults employed or in school is more unstable than years of education because employment among young people is more erratic. When recessions hit, young people are among the first to be laid off.
For more information about data sources and treatments, download the Data Notes.