Giving Compass' Take:

• Martha Ross and Natalie Holmes lay out the landscape of youth unemployment and effective strategies for helping young people find employment. 

• How can funders better tailor their young adult programs? What is youth employment like in your area? 

• Learn about successful strategies for youth unemployment. 

In theory, the path to employment providing financial security in adulthood is simple: Finish high school, enroll in and complete college or training that is affordable and a good fit, gain some work experience along the way, and launch a career. Yet the data are clear that this path does not work equally well for all.

This report and accompanying interactive data tool provide a unique perspective on young adults ages 18-24 who are out of work, focusing on those in mid to large cities and counties. We use cluster analysis to segment out-of-work young adults into groups likely to benefit from similar types of employment and education-related assistance, based on factors such as educational attainment, work history, school enrollment, disability, English language proficiency, and family status. Through the cluster analysis, we identify five groups of out-of-work young adults, and then introduce fictionalized personas as examples of people in each of the groups. Lastly, the report provides recommendations for state, local, civic, and institutional leaders to help more young people successfully navigate the transition into the labor market.

The educational landscape

High school graduation rates have increased over the past decade or so and now stand at 84 percent nationally. However, rates are consistently lower for black, Hispanic, and low-income students, and some wonder whether the increased graduation rates reflect improved student learning or reduced standards. Moreover, for students in a substantial number of lowperforming high schools, graduating on time is a 50-50 proposition.

High school graduation, however, as crucial as it is, is only one step in the process. Postsecondary credentials are gatekeepers to most jobs providing financial security and upward mobility. Recognizing this, a robust number of federal, state, local, and school-level initiatives have promoted college-going over the past few decades, and indeed, enrollment has risen. The share of recent high school graduates enrolling in college has dramatically increased—from 50 percent in 1980 and 60 percent in 1990 to nearly 70 percent in 2016. But enrolling in college is not the same as being prepared for college or completing college.

The labor market

People generally seek to start their careers after they have completed their education. Educational credentials are a powerful sorting mechanism in the labor market, and jobs providing financial security increasingly require college degrees.

Early work experiences may also make a difference to employment success as an adult. One strand of research suggests that employment as a young person has beneficial effects on future employment and earnings. Another study found that high school work-based learning opportunities such as internships were positively related to higher job quality as an adult. In this view, teens and young adults gain valuable skills, experience, contacts, and work habits through employment that serve them well in the future. Others, however, contend that teen employment is not a determining factor in later labor market success, citing selection effects and the pre-existing characteristics of teens who work versus teens who don’t.