Conventional wisdom holds that official Department of Labor (DOL) statistics don't take into account individuals who have dropped out of the labor market because they have simply given up looking, as well as people whose unemployment benefits have expired and haven't been reinstated by a deadlocked Congress. As with the overall economy, the picture is improving and people are going back to work – but at nowhere near the pace we'd normally see after an economic downturn.

That said, there are two groups of job seekers that have been largely ignored in the nation's economic scenario since the Great Recession started in late 2007 and officially ended in 2009: younger workers and military spouses. Albeit for different reasons, these blocs of the would-be employed comprise a very large segment of the employment market. Interestingly enough, they also intersect to some extent.

Younger Workers

A great deal of media coverage (particularly the business press) has focused on the plight of aging Baby Boomers and older workers who can't afford to retire at the same stage of life and with the same financial security that their parents did. But at least one economist at a leading think tank (the Brookings Institution's Gary Burtless) cites numbers indicating most of the employment pain in America's sputtering recovery of the last five years is being shouldered by the under-30 population.

This and other eye-opening statistics are discussed in a recent profile of "idled young adults" in a recent piece by FoxBusiness. As the article, and the underlying recently released findings published by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) indicate, there's more to this story that meets the eye:

• It's no surprise that recent college graduates and younger job seekers are struggling more than their older counterparts. This is historically born out by employment figures – even in the best of times.
• Logically, college- and graduate-school-age young adults have sought refuge from a weak labor market by either applying to, or striving to finish, degree programs. However, given that the cost of higher education in the U.S. has skyrocketed in the past 30 years by 125% or more for both public and private colleges (adjusted for inflation), many who want to improve their skills in school simply can't afford to go that route.
• The lion's share of these individuals isn't guilty of being lazy or not ambitious. Rather, the persistent job shortage has more to do with insufficient stimulus and hiring practices in both the government and private sectors, with the root cause being greatly reduced demand for goods and services by consumers and companies.

For a deeper dive into this research, you can peruse the EPI's findings and download the full report directly from their site.

Military Spouses

An even more-overlooked segment of the job-seeking population is military spouses. Here, again, the mainstream and business news media have given ample coverage (some would argue woefully inadequate in itself) to the plight of military veterans – younger ones, in particular – being under-served by the Veterans Administration.

Many are suffering from untreated, or under-treated, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other battlefield-related wounds. Many veterans are unable to re-position themselves in the labor market after making the ultimate sacrifice for our nation.

First Lady Michelle Obama has made one of her priorities helping returning veterans and their families obtain better access to the medical care – as well as jobs – they so desperately need. As highlighted in the news story cited below, Mrs. Obama has urged governors nationwide to help streamline licensing and certification processes for veterans, soldiers and their spouses across state lines. More than 40 states have responded successfully.

The issue of unemployed, or under-employed, military spouses (on average female, 30+ years of age and college-educated or have had some higher education) has come to light by a corporate consortium known as the "100,000 Jobs Mission." It pledged last week to extend its focus to military spouses.

The 100,000 Jobs Mission is an initiative undertaken by over 150 companies to hire 200,000 veterans by the year 2020. Job-seeking military spouses number in the hundreds of thousands, according to recent statistics.

deprived young Americans discussed above, the Fortune story points out that younger military spouses have been hit especially hard, with unemployment rates roughly three times higher than that of their civilian female counterparts in both the 18 to 24 and 25 to 44 age groups.

But, as the article indicates, military spouses have it especially tough due to the transient, constantly mobile nature of military life on and off the base. Most military families find themselves relocating nearly every three years, on average. The inherent instability in military life, coupled with an already challenging job market for the country overall, makes it that much more challenging for spouses of soldiers and veterans – many, if not most, of whom desperately want to find jobs.

So, as we read about rising GDP, lower unemployment claims and jobless rates in the U.S., perhaps now more attention will be paid to both of these largely unsung segments of (mainly) young adults who want their chance at living out the American Dream. This story will likely only continue garner more attention by HR professionals and the larger business community alike.