Definition: The percentage of the population ages 16 to 24 who are not enrolled in school and who are not working.

Source: OpportunityIndex.org: Measure of America analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey PUMS Microdata and custom tabulations for county and county equivalents provided by special arrangement with the U.S. Census Bureau.

2025 Target: 14.04%

Below is a comparison of the value for this indicator among seven coastal counties: Charlotte, Sarasota, Collier, Lee, Manatee, Hillsborough, and Pinellas. These counties have been recommended as comparable counties by Sarasota County Government.

Youth Not in School and Not Working (2016)

In 2016, 14.1% of Sarasota County residents ages 16 to 24 were not in school and not working. This phenomenon is called “youth disconnection”. This figure has decreased by around 8% since 2011 (15.3%), and is the same as the State of Florida figure. The national figure (13.2% of youth) is slightly lower than that of Sarasota County and the state.

According to Opportunity Nation, the causes of youth disconnection can range from being financial, familial, educational, personal, or a combination of these factors. Youth unemployment is influenced by a number of factors, including: poverty, educational attainment of the individual and their parents, high rates of adult unemployment, and racial segregation. Communities like Sarasota County, in which the majority of jobs are “low skill” (e.g. service and retail) are more likely to have higher rates of youth unemployment because youth are competing with more experienced adults for entry-level occupations. Higher numbers of disconnected youth result in higher levels of incarceration and public assistance payments. According to a 2012 report, The Economic Value of Opportunity Youth, the disconnected youth crisis costs tax payers $93 billion dollars annually and $1.6 trillion dollars over their lifetime in lost revenues and increased social services. Disconnected youth are the result of long term issues, thus a comprehensive response is required.