Employment, Education, and Disconnection at Age 22: Evidence from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study

Jun 3

This research brief, released by The Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study and coauthored by CPSP faculty affiliate Jane Waldfogel, presents a first look at patterns of employment, education, and disconnection at age 22 for contemporary young adults overall and by gender, race, and ethnicity. The Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study is a joint effort by the Princeton University’s Bendheim-Thoman Center for Research on Child and Family Wellbeing and the Columbia Population Research Center. It has been following a large and diverse sample of children born in 20 large US cities since their births in 1998 to 2000. When the data are weighted, as they are here, these young people are nationally representative of young adults born in large cities in the United States.

Read research brief

Key Findings

Recent survey results from 22-year olds are encouraging: despite pandemic disruptions, most young adults – 83% - are working, in school/training, or both.
But around one in six (16%) 22-year olds are disconnected – neither working nor in school.
The majority (66%) of disconnected young adults are looking for work, and 59% had a job in the past year. Others report health limitations or care responsibilities.
Patterns of connection to education and work vary considerably by gender, race, and ethnicity, reflecting long-standing structural differences in family advantage, opportunity, and risk.
In particular, the risk of being disconnected is higher for young Black men (30%) than for other groups, although the majority (63%) of disconnected young Black men are looking for work, and 33% had a job in the past year.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FUTURE OF FAMILIES STUDY

The Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study is a long-running collaborative birth cohort study, which has followed a large and diverse sample of children since their births in 1998 to 2000. The children were born in 20 large cities but now reside all over the United States. When weighted, the study provides data that is nationally representative of young adults born in large cities and as such is the only nationally representative sample of a contemporary cohort of young adults followed longitudinally since birth.

The study is a joint effort by Princeton University’s Bendheim-Thoman Center for Research on Child and Family Wellbeing and the Columbia Population Research Center.

Suggested Citation

Hye-Min Jung and Jane Waldfogel. 2024. Employment, Education, and Disconnection at Age 22. Princeton, NJ: The Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study.