Skip to content

Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025

Is unemployment for young US workers the highest since the pandemic?

Keshav Srikant, Econofact
yes

Unemployment among young U.S. workers is the highest it’s been in nearly four years. 

Unemployment among young U.S. workers (those aged 16-24) was 10.5% in August 2025. That is the highest rate since February 2021 when it was 10.9%.

The World Health Organization ended the COVID-19 pandemic’s “global health emergency” status on May 5, 2023. However, prior to the pandemic, youth unemployment was higher than current levels from August 2007 to January 2016.

The reason for the recent rise in youth unemployment is unclear. Some economists point to displacement of recent college graduates by artificial intelligence, while others point to a broadly softening labor market. 

The overall unemployment rate was 4.3% in August 2025.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

About fact briefs

Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by newsrooms in the Gigafact network.

See all fact briefs

EconoFact is a non-partisan publication designed to bring key facts and incisive analysis to the national debate on economic and social policies. Launched in January 2017, it is written by leading academic economists from across the country who belong to the EconoFact Network. It is published by the Edward R. Murrow Center for a Digital World at The Fletcher School at Tufts University.

Learn More

Latest Fact Briefs

Be a Friend of facts

Help us fund more great fact briefs like this one.