While overall employment in the United States has risen in the last 30 years, the employment and earnings prospects for youths have fallen relative to those for older workers. This deterioration in youth labor market conditions has been most pronounced for low-skilled youths, high school...

Between the late 1960s and early 1990s, young workers experienced declining average real wages and increasing labor market inequality. High-skilled youths—those with a college degree—fare better in this new economy relative to youths with few skills and little formal education. This paper...