According to a recent article in The Economist, a quarter of 15-to-24-year-old young people in the world are NEETS, not working or preparing for work. Other youth not counted as NEETS are underemployed or working in low level jobs where they learn few skills.

Perhaps fifteen percent of this age group in the more developed countries are NEETS, their numbers increased by the recession. Particularly in southern Europe, where growth has all but stopped, the jobless rate of NEETS is much higher than fifteen percent.

Studies in the United States indicate that joblessness among youth adversely affects their careers all their lives. They earn less, are more subject to intermittent unemployment, and develop fewer skills. They are less able to save for old age. The longer the joblessness, the more traumatic the results and the more likely these results are to harm the next generation.

Yet, in some surveys, more than half of companies surveyed in the developed world say they cannot find enough skilled workers for their entry-level jobs. Many commentators have warned that our economy will be permanently scarred and will suffer permanent decline if we do not invest more in the education and training of our youth.