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America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2009

Youth Neither Enrolled in School nor Working

Youth ages 16–19 who are neither in school nor working are detached from both of these core activities that usually occupy teenagers during their transition from adolescence to adulthood. Such detachment, particularly if it lasts for several years, puts youth at increased risk of having lower earnings and a less stable employment history than their peers who stayed in school, secured jobs, or both.¹¹⁰ The percentage of youth who are not enrolled in school and not working is one measure of the proportion of young people who are at risk of limiting their future prospects.

Indicator ED5: Percentage of youth ages 16–19 who are neither enrolled in school nor working by gender and race and Hispanic origin, 1985–2008

NOTE: The information relates to the labor force and enrollment status of persons 16–19 years old in the civilian noninstitutionalized population during an "average" week of the school year. School refers to both high school and college. For data before 2003, the 1977 OMB Standards for Data on Race and Ethnicity were used to classify persons into one of the following four racial groups: White, Black, American Indian or Alaskan Native, or Asian or Pacific Islander. The revised 1997 OMB standards were used for data for 2003 and later years. Persons could select one or more of five racial groups: White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. Included in the total but not shown separately are American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and "Two or more races." Beginning in 2003, those in each racial category represent those reporting only one race. Data from 2003 onward are not directly comparable with data from earlier years. Data on race and Hispanic origin are collected separately. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

In an average week during the 2008 school year, 8 percent of youth ages 16–19 were neither enrolled in school nor working. The proportion of youth neither enrolled in school nor working has been on a downward trend, and most of the decline has occurred among females. In 1991, 13 percent of young females were neither in school nor working; by 2008, this proportion was 8 percent.
Black, non-Hispanic youth and Hispanic youth are more likely to be neither enrolled nor working than White, non-Hispanic youth. In 2008, 11 percent of Hispanic youth and 11 percent of Black, non-Hispanic youth were neither in school nor working, compared with 7 percent of White, non-Hispanic youth.
Older youth, ages 18–19, are more than three times as likely to be detached from school and work activities as youth ages 16–17. In 2008, 14 percent of youth ages 18–19 were neither enrolled in school nor working, compared with 4 percent of youth ages 16–17.
The percentage of youth who were enrolled in school and not employed was 61 percent in 2008. This proportion has been trending up since 2000, when it was 48 percent.
The percentage of youth who were both enrolled in school and employed was 22 percent in 2008, down from 31 percent in 1998.

table icon ED5.A HTML Table, ED5.B HTML Table, ED5.C HTML Table (web only)

¹¹⁰ Brown, B. (1996). Who are America's disconnected youth? Report prepared for the American Enterprise Institute. Washington, DC: Child Trends, Inc.