Although the\u00a0unemployment rate\u00a0has spent\u00a030 months\u00a0at or below\u00a0below 4%\u00a0\u2014 a near record \u2014 not everyone who wants a job has one. And not everyone even wants a job at all.<\/p>\n
Some, referred to as \u201cNEETs,\u201d which stands for \u201cnot in employment, education, or training,\u201d are opting out of the labor force largely because they are discouraged by their economic standing.<\/p>\n
Others, alternatively, are well-qualified but often younger candidates who are struggling to find positions, comprising a contingent of \u201cnew unemployables,\u201d according to a recent report by\u00a0Korn Ferry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Among 16- to 24-year-olds, the unemployment rate rose to 9% in May, which is \u201ctypical,\u201d according to Al\u00ed 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.<\/p>\n
Although the youth unemployment rate fell below 7% in 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, such lows were \u201cemblematic of how hot the labor market was at that point,\u201d Bustamante said.<\/p>\n
\u201c9% is basically what we should be expecting during relatively good economic times for younger workers,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Still, some young adults in the U.S. are neither working nor learning new skills.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
In other words, roughly one in 10 young people are \u201cbeing left out and left behind in many ways,\u201d Bustamante said.<\/p>\n
Even though \u201cthat\u2019s typically the norm,\u201d he said, \u201cwe should be expecting these rates to be lower.\u201d<\/p>\n
Young men, especially, are increasingly disengaged, according to Julia Pollak, a labor economist at ZipRecruiter.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe NEET trend is mostly a male phenomenon,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Pollak explained that\u2019s in part due to declining opportunities in traditionally male occupations, such as construction and manufacturing, while \u201cwomen\u2019s enrollment in schooling, education outcomes, and employment outcomes have mostly trended upwards.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Korn Ferry\u2019s report, a \u201cperfect storm\u201d has also created a glut of \u201cnew unemployables,\u201d or highly trained workers who struggle to find job opportunities.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmployers are holding on to the talent they have and increasingly focusing on talent mobility,\u201d said\u00a0David Ellis, senior vice president for global talent acquisition transformation at Korn Ferry.<\/p>\n
This \u201ctalent hoarding\u201d has led to fewer available job openings even for well-qualified candidates, he said.<\/p>\n
At the same time, firms are scaling back on new hires,\u00a0limiting the opportunities\u00a0at the entry level, as well.<\/p>\n
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. \u201cIt\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Overall, hiring projections for the class of 2024 fell 5.8% from last year, according to a\u00a0report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, or NACE.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Despite those trends in the job market, \u201call is not lost,\u201d Ellis said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t wait to reach out,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, make yourself more visible by writing about noteworthy topics in the industry and\u00a0updating your resume\u00a0to include keywords and so-called \u201ctitle tags,\u201d which highlight important elements at the top.<\/p>\n
Finally, don\u2019t limit yourself to roles that include a promotion or a raise, Ellis also advised. Rather, aim for a \u201ccareer lattice,\u201d which could entail taking lower position to gain skills that will pay dividends later.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Although the\u00a0unemployment rate\u00a0has spent\u00a030 months\u00a0at or below\u00a0below 4%\u00a0\u2014 a near record \u2014 not everyone who wants a job has one. And not everyone even wants a job at all. Some, referred to as \u201cNEETs,\u201d which stands for \u201cnot in employment, education, or training,\u201d are opting out of the labor force largely because they are discouraged […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5759,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5758\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}