Stable employment is a key indicator of a man's successful transition from school to work. By their late twenties, men are expected to work on a regular basis. Erratic employment early in a man's labor-market career can permanently lower his lifetime earnings. Topel and Ward (1992) estimated that three quarters of men's lifetime wage growth occurs in their first ten years of work.

Scholars contend that in the United States, young men – particularly those with low levels of schooling and African American men – are increasingly becoming disconnected from employment (Besharov, 1999; Corcoran & Matsudaira, 2005; Devereux, 2003; Edelman, Holzer, & Offner, 2006; Freeman & Holzer, 1986; Handel, 2003; Holzer, Offner, & Sorenson, 2005; Juhn, 1992; Juhn & Potter, 2006; Mincy, 2006; Wilson, 1987, 1996). Edelman et al. (2006, p. 18) estimated that in 1999, “just over a third of young black male high school dropouts are employed.” Analysts are divided in their explanations for this phenomenon. Some researchers suggested that the changes are due to the development of new norms about the transition to adulthood that have encouraged young adults to be less seriously engaged in the labor market. In contrast, other researchers point to economic and structural factors that limit young adults' employment prospects.

In this chapter, we provide further documentation on the decline in stable employment among young men in the United States.