More young adults are working or attending school than in past decades, according to data from the Pew Research Center.
The data showed the share of young adults who are not engaged in work or education has gradually fallen in recent decades and is at its lowest point in 30 years at 13.7%.
Pew said the downward trend, which is sometimes referred to as the disconnection rate, in part reflects a tight labor market and falling unemployment. It also points to higher levels of engagement among young women. In 2018, only 14.4% of 18- to 24-year-old women were neither working nor enrolled in school, down from 21.7% in 1989, the research showed.
As for young men, 13% were not working or going to school in 2018. This is up marginally from 11.2% in 1989, but the share has fluctuated substantially over that period, peaking at 18.6% in 2010 in the aftermath of the Great Recession, the research found.
Pew attributed the engagement of young adults to lower high school dropout rates and higher college enrollment. The data showed that in 2018, 27.4% of 18- to 24-year-olds were enrolled in school or college and not employed, up from 17.7% in 1989.
It also noted that fewer teen births in recent years has led to more young women in school or working as compared to 30 years ago. For women age 18 to 24 who lived with a child in 2018, the percentage was down to 12.5%, up from 25% in 1989. In contrast, the research pointed out that in 2018, 37.6% of 18- to 24-year-old women living with at least one of their own children were not enrolled in school or employed, compared with only 11.1% of young women not living with a child.
But the research showed that even among young women who are mothers, engagement in the labor force or school is greater today than in past decades. In 1989, 52% of young mothers were not working or in school, compared with 37.6% today.
The research suggested that while young mothers may have access to childcare or financial aid for postsecondary education, they may be under greater financial pressure to work or pursue additional education because fewer of them are married. In 2018, 37.1% of young mothers were married, down from 58.6% in 1989.
Additionally, the report showed the decline in disconnection in recent decades has been more pronounced among Hispanics and African Americans. In 2018, a record- low share of Hispanics age 18 to 24 were neither in school nor working (15.5%). And 18.8% of black young adults in 2018 were disconnected from employment and school, a decline from 29% in 1989.