Fifteen percent of young people are neither in school nor working, according to a recent study.

That's almost 6 million of people aged 16 to 24 have neither desk nor job, according to a study released by The Opportunity Nation coalition.

Other studies have shown that idle young adults are missing out on a window to build skills they will need later in life, the Associated Press reports.

Researchers of the study said this highlights the dim likelihood that without acquiring marketable or transferrable skills at work or knowledge in high school or college, these young people are less likely to command higher salaries. They are more likely to become an economic drain on their communities.

Mark Edwards, executive director of the coalition of business, advocacy groups, policy experts and nonprofit organizations dedicated to increasing economic mobility, said that the all today's youth need is a chance,

"The tendency is to see them as lost souls and see them as unsavable," he said. "They are not."

Changing the dynamic will not be easy.

According to Opportunity Nation, 49 states have seen an increase in the number of families living in poverty and 45 states have seen a drop in household median incomes in the last year. The report highlights the challenges young adults face now foretells challenges they are likely to face as they get older.

"Their destiny is too often determined by their zip code," Charlie Mangiardi of Year Up, a nonprofit that trains young adults for careers and helps them find jobs.

According to the Opportunity Nation, some of the states that are doing well for its young people include Vermont, Minnesota and North Dakota. The states are the least supportive are Nevada, Mississippi and New Mexico.

Mangiardi said oftentimes youth lack social capital; there's a whole pool of talent that is motivated, they just can't get through a employers door.