Catherwood LibraryILR School

Unemployment for teenagers in the U.S. is three times the rate of other workers, but still, many young people are choosing not to enter the workforce in order to be able to focus more on school. Only one third of U.S. teens were employed or looked for work in January. That is the lowest percent of young Americans since 1948. For some the choice not to work is about improving their college applications, but for others it is a corollary of seeing so many people their age attempt to get work and fail or being the first ones let go when they do get hired. While it has become more important for U.S. youth to focus on post high school training or education, the lack of work during their younger years could negatively impact their ability to prove basic employment skills to employers later on.