Research from the Atlanta Federal Reserve shows how the proportion of young people ages 16 to 24 in the work force has collapsed.

If this was simply a phenomenon of the recent crisis, then perhaps it wouldn't be too surprising given the paucity of jobs these days. But there's more to it: Ever since 2000, fewer and fewer young people have been working.

See for yourself; even between recessions the green line below has been falling:

Federal Reserve of Atlanta: Moreover, the most recent recession has seen youth participation rates decline at a rate similar to that seen in the early 2000s. In contrast, the labor force participation by individuals over 24 years of age has varied much less, implying that the decline in youth labor force participation has been a major contributor to the reduction in the overall rate of labor force participation (see the above chart).

It also appears that the decline in youth participation is most dramatic among teenagers, and for that group it is an equally sized decline for both males and females (see the next two charts).

So, first of all, as stated above, the decline in labor participation from America's young accounts for the majority of the decline in overall labor market participation. So it's not that older workers are dropping out of the rat race, it's that the younger people are.

The Economist's Free Exchange thinks this could be partly a good thing -- falling labor market participation is a function of more young people focusing on education. Maybe, but at the same time it might just be that, for some reason, they find less reason to work, or have less "fire in the belly."

Free Exchange: That makes the decline seem a little less troubling. At least those not able to find work in the labour market are actively investing in human capital. But this also suggests that young people are developing far less work experience in early adulthood than did previous generations—a factor which could make it more difficult for them to find work when they finally leave school, and which may influence things like levels of student indebtedness in the meantime.