Study: Number of young U.S. adults out of work, school at historic low

Oct. 30 (UPI) -- New research has found that the number of young adults in the United States -- between the ages of 18 and 24 -- who are not either going to work or school is at its lowest point in three decades of study.

Pew Research Center said in the study Tuesday less than 14 percent of young adults in the United States are "disconnected" -- a term for neither attending school nor working a job.

Among young female adults, just 14.4 percent are doing neither -- a decrease from nearly 22 percent in 1989. For men in the age group, 13 percent are disconnected. Twenty-seven percent were enrolled in school, but did not have a job.

The survey said one contributing factor is a lower high school dropout rate and higher college enrollment.

Pew research also found that more young women are choosing school over motherhood, which for years has been the greatest reason why they become disconnected.

"Even among young women who are mothers, engagement in the labor force or school is greater today than in past decades," the report notes.