Unemployment has ravaged almost every section of the global labor force. Yet this financial slump has hurt young people the most. Individuals between the ages of 16 and 24 are having the hardest time finding jobs. Even though some dropped out of high school; many are college graduates and have even gone on to earn MBAs and law degrees.

In the U.S. the unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds is now greater than 18 percent. In the previous year it was 13 percent.This means that nearly one-fifth of young adults don’t have a job. These figures don’t even tally how many are underemployed. This shows that not only are American families struggling, but even teenagers can’t find jobs to help their families survive.

There is also long-term damage that can be caused if young people are unable to start off their careers. These individuals may become a “lost generation.” A number of studies have revealed that when youth can’t find jobs over an extensive period of time it can lead to problems including significantly lower lifetime incomes.

The reasoning behind this is that many people get trapped in the same old job, doing jobs that are below their skills and abilities. This in turn can lead employers to believe that they are unskilled or damaged goods. These circumstances will lead to disgruntled employees even if they have an education because they aren’t meeting their ability.

Another drawback is that many businesses aren’t hiring new employees especially young workers. This means that they are missing from the workplace. Thus, businesses are missing out on new ideas and concepts that younger generations bring in to rejuvenate the company. American companies are not hiring this generation, which is similar to the problem Japan faced in the 1990s and even today.

The implications of this problem during the 1990s in Japan has revealed long-term affects on the workplace. Japanese individuals that started their career during the 1990s are accountable for 6 in 10 cases of reported depression, stress, and work-related mental disabilities. Because of these circumstances and results, experts judge the identical thing will happen to young workers in America. So this problem will affect young workers that are drop outs, college grads, and those still working on their degrees. Professors are already reporting that their students are worried about the market. This fear is affecting college students all over the country including those at highly ranked universities like Stanford.

There is so much competition out there for every job. But it seems to make rational sense that companies would hire young workers because they’re cheap and get rid of the older high-priced workers but companies are not taking risks. They are not hiring or even taking applications. Another problem is that many companies are wanting a lot of experience which newcomers don’t have.

There are thousands of young people that are unable to get jobs in this economy. There are long-term implications that can hurt this “lost generation.” Recession grads not only suffer from depression and anxiety but in general earn less over their working career.