How Are 'Disconnected' Young Adults Spending Their Time? | St. Louis Fed

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How Are “Disconnected” Young Adults Spending Their Time?

July 14, 2026

By

William M. Rodgers III

Alice L. Kassens

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

In 2024, the share of U.S. 18- to 24-year-olds who were neither employed nor enrolled in school—that is, “disconnected”—was measured at 16%. That share remained essentially unchanged as of December 2025, despite a generally healthy labor market overall.

Rural young adults, less-educated young adults, young Black adults and young adults from lower-income families tended to have higher rates of disconnection than their peers.

The American Time Use Survey offers a nuanced view of how disconnected young adults spend their time, suggesting constraints on the way their time can be allocated rather than disengagement or inactivity.

Disconnected young adults spend more time on caregiving responsibilities and household activities than their not-disconnected peers, and less time on work- and education-related activities. Patterns in social and leisure time are similar across both groups.

This is the third blog post in a three-part series that explores labor market challenges and opportunities for young adults.

Over the past few years, the U.S. labor market has looked robust. In two earlier blog posts,The first two blog posts in this series discussed opportunities for young adults in a “low-hire, low-fire” labor market and labor supply and demand factors that can shape outcomes for young workers, respectively. we showed that young adults are the first to struggle when hiring slows, even when the labor market appears generally healthy. Why, then, if the labor market has been strong, are so many young adults still disconnected from work and school? The answer is that while a tight labor market helps, it does not help everyone in the same way. Beneath strong aggregate indicators lie persistent structural challenges related to access, geography and opportunity that shape how easily young adults can connect to work or education.

What Does Disconnection Look Like for Young Adults?

At any point in time, a substantial share of young adults—that is, 18- to 24-year-olds—are neither employed nor enrolled in school, a group we refer to as “disconnected.”Other terms often used to describe this group include “not in education, employment or training” (NEET), if participation in training is an option, and “opportunity youth.” Young adult disconnection varies across the population.

Our October 2024 report measured the overall disconnection rate among U.S. young adults at 16%. An update to some of the key findings from our report suggests their disconnection rate has remained essentially unchanged,The October 2024 report pooled Current Population Survey microdata from January 2017 to June 2024. Our update pools Current Population Survey microdata from April 2023, when U.S. labor market tightness peaked, to December 2025. even amid a labor market that has stayed relatively strong. Geography continues to play a central role: About one-fifth of young adults living in rural areas remained disconnected, both nationally and within the Eighth Federal Reserve District.Headquartered in St. Louis, the Eighth District covers all of Arkansas, most of Missouri, and parts of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee.

Educational attainment is strongly associated with connection. Young adults with at least some college had disconnection rates less than half of those of peers whose education stopped with a high school diploma or before. Regardless of geography, young Black adults experienced higher rates of disconnection than young white adults and young Hispanic adults,This group comprises Current Population Survey respondents identifying as Hispanic or Latino regardless of race. with rates ranging roughly from 25% to 30%. In both national and Eighth District data, disconnection among young Black adults living in principal citiesPrincipal cities are the largest city in the more than 250 metro areas we examined. remained about double that of young white adults.

Family income follows familiar patterns. Young adults from lower-income families were more likely to be disconnected, and rural young adults faced higher disconnection rates than young adults in metro areas at nearly every income level. While higher family income reduces the likelihood of disconnection, it does not eliminate geographic gaps.

What Are Disconnected Young Adults Actually Doing?

The word “disconnected” suggests withdrawn or inactive. However, the American Time Use Survey provides a much more nuanced story of how disconnected young adults spend their time.The American Time Use Survey is sponsored by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and conducted annually by the U.S. Census Bureau. Most of the broad categories of activity tracked by...