10.2 million 'detached,' jobless millennials, potential lost generation

Nearly 17 percent of young adults age 16-29 don’t have a job, aren’t going to school or participating in employment training, an army of 10.2 million “detached” Americans down on their luck and a potential source of social unrest, according to a new Pew Research Center report.

“Teens and young adults were among the groups hit hardest by the global financial crisis. And while many young people have since regained their footing – as employees, students or both – there are still millions in the U.S. and abroad who are neither working nor in school. Though sometimes referred to as ‘disconnected’ or ‘detached’ youth, globally those young people often are called ‘NEETs’ – because they are neither employed nor in education or training,” said Pew.