Young people have more promising job opportunities now than in the past three decades: Young people (16–24 years old) unemployment rate, underemployment rate, and share not employed and not enrolled, March 2025 and average of July 1990–March 2024
| July 1990-March 2024 | Mar-2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 12.1% | 9.2% |
| Underemployment rate | 20.1% | 16.0% |
| Not employed, not enrolled | 15.8% | 14.2% |
Notes: Each month represents a 12-month moving average leading up to that month; for instance, March 2025 represents the average value from April 2024 to March 2025. Underemployment is the share of the labor force that either 1) is unemployed, 2) is working part time but wants and is available to work full time (an “involuntary” part timer), or 3) wants and is available to work and has looked for work in the last year but has given up actively seeking work in the last four weeks (“marginally attached” worker). Enrolled refers to enrolled in high school, college, or university.
Source: EPI analysis of the Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata, EPI Current Population Survey Extracts, Version 1.0.62 (2025), https://microdata.epi.org.
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