Oxford University Press's
Academic Insights for the Thinking World

Employment and education for emerging adults

Complaints about “boomerang kids” or the lack of work ethic for younger generations isn’t uncommon. Yet over 80% of high school seniors have held at least one part-time job. And balancing schoolwork with a dead-end job is essential, as career prospects dissolve for young adults without an education.

Jeffrey Jensen Arnett re-examines the employment prospects of those in their late teens and early twenties in the second edition of Emerging Adulthood, uncovering what years of rising higher education costs and a financial crisis have wrecked on the opportunities and attitudes of those trying to assert their independence. The infographic below illustrates some of the disturbing and encouraging data from his work, from the challenges these young adults face, to their resilience and hope.

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Download the pdf or jpg of the infographic.

Headline image credit: Home office. CC0 via Pixabay.

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