Young, restless and ... unemployed?

New studies indicate the in the developed world, individuals under 25 are more likely to be unemployed than their older counterparts. Three times as likely, when the numbers are examined as an aggregate.

Youth who are full-time students are not counted in these numbers, meaning that countless young adults (well, not entirely countless - some reports say up to 15 million) who reside in relatively affluent countries are without a job or education. In Spain, which suffers from high unemployment across the board, nearly 40 percent of the youth is unemployed.

One reader of the Times' report on these numbers made an astute observation:

Basically all this is measuring is the effects of education on employment status. Those who are 15 to 24 are either full time students (and thus not counted in employment statistics at all), or are high school dropouts and/or those with only high school educations. It shouldn't be surprising that they find themselves unemployed at higher rates than those who graduate from college and/or have more experience in the workforce.

The value of a college education is a rarely disputed fact. But in the current economic climate, the normal laws of education and job possibilities do not necessarily apply. In countries around the world, college graduates are forced to take jobs for which they are overqualified because there is nothing else available. Consequently, those who have no college education at all -but in a vacuum would be qualified for these entry-level positions - are left without employment. This is the case in Spain, where "the risk of overeducation" has become a conscious phenomenon. Youth are opting out of college because the rewards of attending are no longer worth the time and cost. In effect, the opportunity cost of a college education has become too high - especially if unemployment is the result nonetheless.

For those with money to spare, unpaid internships have become the option. But for those without a college education or a fallback option, what do these facts mean? Is an entire generation, worldwide, being crippled by the economic crisis? If youth are unemployable and therefore unable to gain beginner experiences, how will they ever rise up? Though the numbers do not appear to exist, statistics on the employment of those aged 25-30 would be helpful for understanding the implications of this mass unemployment.

For more: a video by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on what these statistics mean.