PERCENT OF TEENS NOT ATTENDING SCHOOLS AND NOT WORKING (AGES 16-19)

“Idle teens” is another topic that has recently received substantial attention both in the media and in Congress.  The most common activities associated with American teenagers are school and work, and it is participation in these activities that measurement of “idle teens” turn.  This indicator seeks to measure the percentage of all teenagers that are idle, meaning that they are neither enrolled in school in any capacity nor hold a part or full-time job. 

While the rate of teens that are dropping out of high schools has largely oscillated over the past decade, the percentage of teens that are neither in school, nor working has fallen from 10 to 8 percent during the 1990s.  KIDS COUNT data indicates that teens living in the southern and western states are the most likely to be idle, while those living in the Great Plains, Midwest, and Northwest are more likely to actively engaged in school or work. Mississippi, Arkansas, and Arizona have the largest percentage of idle teens, at 12% each, while Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska at 4% have the lowest. 

Data for this indicator was obtained from the analyses of Current Population Survey reports produced by the US Census Bureau.   CPS survey questions regarding school attendance and employment were asked of all 16-19 years olds in the sample for each month of the traditional school year.  A yearly average was then calculated based on these responses. 

Figure 1: Percent of Idle Teens, 1998