WASHINGTON ¨C Among the economic and social trends worth worrying about is the fate of the NEETs. Never heard of the NEETs? I hadn¡¯t either. It¡¯s one of those clumsy terms concocted by government bureaucrats and social scientists to designate a group, social condition or political problem ¡ª and then to make it obscure by wrapping it in jargon.
NEET refers to young people who are ¡°neither employed nor in education or training.¡± There are roughly 39 million NEETs in 33 of the world¡¯s advanced industrial countries, according to a new report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
I have written before about the problems of America¡¯s millennials ¡ª young adults born after 1980. They are the victims of poor timing and indifferent public policies. Coming of age in a harsh economy, they find it hard to get work (especially work for which they¡¯re qualified). By the millions, they¡¯re living with parents and postponing marriage, children and home-buying. Many are burdened with heavy student loans. Those with jobs subsidize their usually better-off elders through Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes.
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