“Not in Employment, Education, Or Training!” A lot of young people are struggling to find jobs

BY KHADIJA KARIM

Recently, there’s been a lot of concern about a group of young people called “NEETs.” NEET stands for “Not in Employment, Education, or Training.” These young adults, usually between 18 and 24 years old, aren’t working, going to school, or learning anything new. About 16% of Americans at this age are NEETs.

This problem isn’t just in the United States. In 2023, around 11.2% of young people aged 15-24 in the U.S. were considered to be NEETs.

This means that a lot of young people are struggling to find jobs or continue their education. The problem of youth unemployment isn’t only in the U.S. In Canada, youth unemployment hit 13.5% in June 2024, the highest since 2014. In China, youth unemployment reached 17.1% in July 2024. Many college graduates can’t find jobs, forcing them to move back home. Similar issues are happening in Africa and South Korea.

There are many reasons why so many people are becoming NEETs. One big reason is weak job networks that means NEETs are not talking to the right people who can help and guide them to find the right jobs for them. Some other people have children, but no access to childcare, making it hard to work. Also, some of these NEETs require childcare, which is not so easily accessible, so it makes it hard for these NEETs to focus on their careers.

Unfortunately, some of these NEETs have disabilities, which stops them from working as jobs are not so open to accommodate people with disabilities. Last but not least transportation also serves as a roadblock towards getting better employment chances.

Many of these youth live in rural areas where job opportunities are often hard to get. They often come from families making less than $50,000 a year. Nearly 70% of these young people have only a high school diploma, and not great education, which makes it even harder to find good jobs. Also, labour jobs such as construction are decreasing at a rapid speed as technology is taking over. Even people with more education are struggling to find jobs because companies are hiring fewer people.

Although the NEETs hands are tied and they are not able to make many changes in the economy, NEETs should try networking more frequently and still work in lower positions as they might pay off in the future. The best thing NEETs can do is gear up against unemployment and fight it head on!