How can Gen-Z choose not to do anything after high school? Who is funding their laziness?
The number of young people ages 18 to 24 who are neither in college nor working “surged by about 1 million” over two years, from 2019 to 2021, according to an extensive analysis report from Newsweek .
Higher education enrollment decreased almost 10 percent over the past two years, resulting in 1.4 million fewer college students, according to the analysis, published Sept. 28 and headlined “Generation COVID: Record Numbers of Youth Opt Out of College, Work.”
Additionally, “just 51 percent of Gen Z teens are now considering a four-year degree—a 20-point drop since May 2020,” Newsweek reported, citing an analysis the news outlet commissioned done by Lightcast, billed as a data-driven labor market consulting firm.
Some students are forgoing college for immediate employment, while a significant percentage of young people have dropped out of both school and work: “Young men in particular are more likely to be disconnected; the percentage of young men not in school or working jumped from 12.4 percent in 2019 to 16.7 percent in 2021.”