The transition from school to work should be a bridge. For one in seven young Americans, it’s a gap. Roughly 5.5 million of those aged 16 to 24 are disconnected from school and work. These opportunity youth are full of potential but don’t have a reliable path forward. Millions more are marginally attached, working a few hours a week or taking a single class. One disruption, like a family health crisis or an unaffordable bill, disconnects them from the institutions that help them build a future.
A 2025 RAND study found that disconnected youth showed signs of struggling socially and academically well before leaving school. They reported more symptoms of depression, higher rates of substance use, and weaker social supports than their connected peers. This disconnection accumulates. By the time it’s visible, it’s hard to reverse.
The UK government just issued the first of two reports on its version of this problem, titled Young People and Work. It calls the situation “a generational fault line” and a “moral crisis” that creates “a strategic economic risk for Britain.” It uses the label NEET, not in education, employment, or training, to describe the group of nearly one million people aged 16 to 24, roughly one in eight young people. A second part with policy recommendations will be published later in 2026.
While the British and US technical definitions of disconnected youth differ, they measure the same underlying reality. These are young people who’ve lost their footing when early adulthood should be taking shape. So, we can take lessons from across the Atlantic for the US.
