Nothing neat about NEETs. (Pretty sad, really.)

The unemployment rate among American's 16-24 years old is running at about 9% - more than double the overall US average. While this is considered normal for this age group, it sounds like a very high number to me. It's roughly what the general unemployment rate was when I got out of business school in 1981, smack dab in a recession. And, take it from one who was looking for work at the time, 9% seems very high. 

I don't know what the unemployment rate was when I was in the 16-24 cohort. I was in school (high school, college, grad school) during most of that period, and whenever I wanted a job - summers, vacations, part time while in school - I found one. When I was 22-23, I worked as a waitress to fund travel. A few months waitressing at Durgin Park funded a couple of months driving and camping cross-country. Another few months waitressing at Durgin Park funded 5 months hitchhiking and camping/hosteling through Europe. At 24, I was doing crappy temp work which eventually led to a more or less real job and the decision to go to business school, which entailed taking courses in math, accounting, and economics so I'd look business-interested enough to get into a good B-school. (It worked.) 

Fast forward, and I'm a) old and b) mostly retired. I hang on to one legacy client and write their blog for them every two weeks. 

But basically, there's never been a time in my life from 16-74 (and counting) and beyond when I haven't been working (and these days, working is mostly volunteering) and/or in school.

Not so with the NEETs - those not in employment, education, or training - who make up a bit over 11 percent in the US (don't know how this squares with the 9 percent unemployment rate)  and about 20 percent of youth worldwide. 

I can't say that Iblame them. 

Young folks in the US have watched the middle class - especially the blue collar, factory-working middle class - crash down around their parents' ears. They're looking at a housing market (rental and purchase) that's pricing out even those with good jobs. AI is looming over even those with good jobs. Many are saddled with college loans that they'll be paying off the rest of their lives without ever making a dent in the principal. They're facing the existenial threat of climate change, and a volatile political environment. They're hooked on social media which, for all its many benefits, can be one big pool of anxiety, inertia, and just plain cess. 

Is it any wonder that so many aren't jumping for joy at the thought of working? That so many are grappling with mental health issues?

Gen Z are nearly twice as stressed out as millennials were at their age; More than a third of 18-24-year-olds are suffering from a “common mental disorder” (CMD) like stress, anxiety, or depression; And Gen Zers who are working are taking significantly more sick leave than Gen Xers 20 years their senior. (Source: MSN)

Anyway, it's pretty sad to think of these millions of young folks hanging around doing nothing - when they should be doing something productive, like working or learning or even (and I can't believe I'm saying this) earning money as influencers. Instead, I'm guessing they're sitting there with their phones, tablets, and gaming consoles, whiling away the hours on the biggest time-waster in the history of the universe: the Internet. 

Young men, especially, are increasingly disengaged, according to Julia Pollak, a labor economist at ZipRecruiter.

“The NEET trend is mostly a male phenomenon,” she said.

Pollak explained that’s in part due to declining opportunities in traditionally male occupations, such as construction and manufacturing, while “women’s enrollment in schooling, education outcomes, and employment outcomes have mostly trended upwards.” (Source: CNBC)

"Young men," you say?

That's comforting. It's not like they'll be happy to hang around Neverneverland with their fellow lost boys. It's not like they're going to become neo-Nazis or the like while scrolling through anti-[your favorite goes here] vids and memes, cooking up ideas on how to get back at [your favorite goes here] - and figuring out how they can get their hands on a high-powered weapon so they can play out their fantasies in the real world. Which may be the only time they enter that world. 

Again, I don't blame them for opting out of an over-rated real world. I admire those who are deciding to live a less aimless consumption, McMansion-crazed life. Who aren't buying into the corporate cutthroat or the corporate hamster wheel. 

But you do have to do something with your life. And doing nothing in your twenties isn't going to set you up with much of a platform for the remainder of your life. 

This is the time to figure it out. If figuring it out means trying different types of work, or going to school: great! If figuring it out means trying to go the creative route, even if you can't (yet) make a living at it: great! If figuring it out means traveling or volunteering: great!

Hanging around doing nothing all day: not so great!

I have no solution for this, other than get off your arse and do something. 

Good luck, NEETs. I think you're going to need it.