Almost 15 percent of young people in the United States are not in school nor working, according to a study released by the Opportunity Nation coalition. That means nearly 6 million people between the ages 16 and 24 who are missing a critical stage of learning and developing in the labor market, according to the coalition's Opportunity Index.

In Los Angeles alone, there are more than 100,000 young people who neither work nor attend school.

This could have a serious ripple effect on statewide and national economies, reported Russell Krumnow, Opportunity Nation's managing director. 

"Not only do these people not develop their own lives, but they lead taxpayers to spend more money on social services," Krumnow said. "This could have a negative effect for generations."

According to Opportunity Nation, the index provides policymakers and community leaders with a tool that offers further insight about opportunity-related issues and concerns. The organization tries to encourage changes by tracking the progress of communities throughout the United States. 

It measures and rates levels of opportunity throughout the U.S. according to 16 criterion, including economic opportunity, education, community health, civic life.

READ MORE: Tales From The Unemployment Line

Those who drop out of school before graduating do so for a variety of reasons, Kurmnow said. As the published data shows, zip code can often be a major predictor of who drops out. 

"It is likely that if you live in a community where measures are lagging, you have less opportunity," he said. "If a lot of factors are really working against you in the neighborhood where you grow up, it makes things more difficult." 

Compared to the indexes published in the previous two years, the current results show that 49 states have seen an increase in the number of families living in poverty. Consequently, it is becoming only more difficult for youth to make it into the job market and flourish. 

The statistics about unemployment in L.A. have not changed much in the last years. Approximately 14 percent of Los Angeles residents have been unemployed between 2011 and 2013, according to Opportunity Nation Community Leadership Fellow Lucas Trainer. 

READ MORE: Tough Jobs Climate Hits Los Angeles' Inner City Neighborhoods Hardest

The ripple effect of the recession seems to have hurt young people more than anyone.

"Adults hit by the recession took jobs they don't necessarily want in order to get an income, and left young people without jobs," Trainer said. "And that's a problem."

The good news is that people are fighting back, determined to brighten the statistics; organizations are working to empower and employ more of America's youth.

Year Up, for example, is an organization that offers a year-long program for young people. Participants are trained to enter the job market for half of the program, and complete an internship during the other half.

"They are not promised a job after the program, but they are very likely to get one," Krumnow said.

Year Up currently operates in 12 cities throughout the United States, and will arrive in the Los Angeles area soon, according to Krumnow. 

Krumnow encourages parents to start saving for their children's higher education early on. 

"Research shows that if a child has a savings account in his name it makes him six times more likely to finish school and use it for some sort of education," he said. 

He also firmly believes that all Americans should become familiar with the issue. Young people should get engaged with work experience early on— of only through job shadowing or an internship—in order to work with adults and make a plan for their futures. 

Reach Staff Reporter Lior Haykeen here.