When the United States was in recession three decades ago, middle-age industrial workers were the biggest losers.

The most recent recession and hesitant recovery, though, has hammered the young, as the government’s disappointing monthly employment report showed again the other day.

For many of America’s younger workers, opportunity is scarce and financial independence is a dream. The labor market’s recent upswing has barely kept pace with population growth. The young continue to suffer substantially larger income losses than other age groups. Those who are ages 16 to 29 are less likely to be employed than at any time since World War II.

The outlook is worrisome. Long stretches of unemployment early in a young person’s work life can undermine future earnings, productivity and career prospects. Debt-strapped Europe is turning into Exhibit A of this phenomenon: In Spain, half of young adults have no job. In Italy, the figure is 30 percent. In Portugal, where youth unemployment runs 28 percent, young professionals are fleeing to Brazil and former Portuguese colonies in Africa.

The jobless rate for young workers in the U.S. typically runs above the rate for those in the prime working ages of 25 to 64. But the latest recession brought about the highest rate of unemployment ever recorded for 16- to 24-year-olds. At the end of 2011, their jobless rate stood at 16.3 percent, almost double the rate overall.

So far this year, youth have made no real progress.

Why is unemployment so much worse for youth than for Americans at large? (The nation’s jobless rate is 8.2 percent.) There are a few reasons.

This was a severe recession, especially for the low-paying retail and hospitality industries, which typically employ the young.

At the same time, older adults were competing more than usual for those retail clerk and bartending positions.

Perhaps the worst part of the youth employment picture is the state of education and job training.

While the nation's college-educated youth face a tough labor market and alarming levels of student debt, the unemployment rate for those without degrees runs far higher.

Those with the least education consistently fare the worst.

The U.S. can’t afford to do nothing while the chips fall disproportionately on this vulnerable part of its population.

From a policy standpoint, the state of affairs argues for smarter investments in education and job training.

For the sake of a generation at risk, let’s hope job creation shifts into high gear.