The high cost of youth unemployment

Nearly everyone has struggled in the wake of the Great Recession, but young Americans have suffered the most. While others have slowly returned to work, the unemployment rate for Americans ages 16-24 stands at 16.2 per cent, more than double the national rate of unemployment. And even when this group eventually starts earning a paycheck, the impact of their unemployment will follow them for years. In this issue brief [the author] makes the case that the United States has a serious youth-unemployment problem that will cost [the country] dearly in the long run. [The author] will show that the employment prospects for young Americans are dismal by both historical and international comparisons, and [the author] will explore in detail the costs associated with [the] current levels of youth unemployment in terms of lost earnings, slower economic growth, and greater taxpayer burden.

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