The Many Faces of NEETs

When they aren’t roasting millennials’ outfits or scrolling on TikTok, how are Gen Z-ers spending their time?

Most are either working or attending school. Some are doing both. But a significant slice of young people around the world — about 20 percent of 15- to 24-year-olds — is doing neither, according to a 2024 report on employment trends from the International Labor Organization, or the I.L.O.

They are what economists call NEETs, an acronym for young people “not in education, employment or training.”

How it’s pronounced

/nēt/

And despite what you may have heard, they aren’t all playing video games in their parents’ basements.