Young America faces an economic crisis

"Threat level: What's holding back hiring is a mix of fleeting, cyclical factors - economic uncertainty as a result of Trump's trade policies, for instance, or high interest rates. Other factors, like the uptake of AI eliminating entry-level positions, are likely structural. The result might be a difficult hiring environment for younger people for the foreseeable future. Young but less-educated Americans also feel the pinch."

"Between the lines: Revisions to government data released on Tuesday showed that the economy added roughly 850,000 jobs in the 12-month period through last March - half as many as previously estimated. In percentage terms, the information sector - a catch-all category that includes data processing - saw the steepest downward revision, followed by wholesale trade and leisure and hospitality."

"By the numbers: The unemployment rate among 16- to 24-year-olds was 10.5% in August, the highest since the aftermath of COVID. Excluding that period, youth unemployment has not been this high since 2016. The unemployment rate for 20- to 24-year-old college graduates rose for the fourth month in August. That rise is now being mirrored among workers whose education tops out at high school, as well as those who completed two-year college programs."

Hiring has weakened due to both cyclical forces—economic uncertainty from trade policy and high interest rates—and structural shifts such as AI reducing entry-level positions. Young and less-educated Americans face widespread job scarcity across industries that normally hire them. Government revisions indicate roughly 850,000 jobs added in the 12 months through last March, about half previous estimates, with the information, wholesale trade and leisure and hospitality sectors seeing the largest downward revisions. Youth unemployment rose to 10.5% for 16-24-year-olds in August, the highest since the pandemic aftermath, and unemployment increases now affect recent college and two-year program graduates as well.

Read at Axios