While the bleak economy has made it hard for young people to get jobs, fewer are being forced to go without medical care, defying an overall trend of rising numbers of working-age Americans who lack coverage.

“While we did not see a drop-off in any other age group, we did see a drop in this age group,” said Frank Newport, Gallup’s polling director.

Gallup found that the share of 26- to 64-year-olds uninsured rose from 18.1 percent in the fall of last year to 19.9 percent this summer.