A Normalized Crisis: Youth/Young Adult Joblessness Data Brief 2026
Executive Summary
This 2026 data brief by the Great Cities Institute examines persistent youth and young adult joblessness in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, and the United States from 2019–2024. The report argues that youth unemployment is not a temporary or cyclical issue, but a longstanding structural crisis that has been normalized in the U.S. labor market. For more than seven decades, unemployment rates for 16–19-year-olds have remained at levels that would trigger emergency intervention if experienced by prime-age workers.
The analysis uses three measures: unemployment rate, jobless rate (including those not actively seeking work), and out-of-school and jobless rate (youth disconnection). These broader measures reveal deeper labor market exclusion, particularly among Black youth.
In 2024, youth joblessness in Chicago remained staggeringly high. Among 16–19-year-olds, 81.9% of Black youth, 76.0% of Latino youth, and 62.8% of White youth were jobless. For Black young adults ages 20–24 in Chicago, 46.5% were jobless, more than twice the rate of White peers (18.9%). Racial disparities have widened since 2019, especially among teenagers, with improvements concentrated among White youth while Black youth saw minimal gains.
Cook County ranks among the worst large U.S. counties for Black youth joblessness, and Illinois ranks near the bottom nationally, particularly for Black young adults. Spatial analysis shows extreme concentrations of joblessness across Chicago’s South and West Sides.
The report emphasizes that youth joblessness reflects structural labor market design rather than individual failings. Hiring systems favor older workers with credentials, networks, and work history. Although research demonstrates strong returns from youth employment programs, funding and implementation remain inconsistent. The report concludes that sustained, targeted investment is necessary to address this entrenched economic exclusion.