Recently discovered this article from the Guardian in the UK which continues to on-going challenge for the next generation. More than a quarter (28%) of Italians between 16 and 24 are unemployed. Others are struggling to get by on unpaid internships or poorly paid jobs with little security. Italy’s new prime minister, Mario Monti, has vowed to help the younger generation, promising among other things to help them start businesses, but as austerity bites deep the future is uncertain, even terrifying, for many.
And, it is not just Italy. 16.3 million people are out of work in the 17 countries that joined the financial system utilizing the Euro. The story of a lost generation is becoming the scandal of a continent. In Spain, 51.4% of those aged 16-24 are jobless. In Greece, the figure is 43%..
Here in the states, young adults are also the highest demographic of unemployment. The White House Council for Community Solutions report, compiled by researchers from Columbia University and the City University of New York, estimates that 17 percent of 16-to-25-year-olds are currently neither students nor workers. That’s 6.7 million young people, disproportionately male and minority, who aren’t gaining any skills in their key career-launching years, unless you count massacring Nazi zombies in "Call of Duty: World at War." (See this AOL Jobs article.)
One wonders how they could be really positively occupying the time. If young adults feel disconnected with the Church, well, how have we connected to this concern? The Guardian article suggests how some are attempting to fill their lives, and it seems rather empty. <image source>