Where Are All the Jobs?

That's a question many teens and college students would like to have answered as they seek employment for the summer months.

April 30, 2010

WASHINGTON - Here??s a kick in the head if you??re young and looking for a summer job: "Of the $1.2 billion in stimulus money distributed to state and local workforce agencies last year, the U.S. Labor Department estimates that more than 75 percent has been spent. Without more federal money, most states and cities will be unlikely to reestablish the training programs and subsidized jobs that put nearly 320,000 teens and young adults to work last summer doing administrative tasks in government agencies and hospitals, landscaping in state parks, maintenance in schools and other duties," reports Stateline.org.

Although the easy finger-point can go toward the current economy, the news source says that the decline in the youth job market began almost 10 years ago:

"In the year 2000, nearly half of all Americans between the ages of 14 and 21 held jobs for at least part of the year. By 2009, even with the stimulus dollars flowing, fewer than one in three young people could find work...Since 2000, fewer than 8 million jobs have been created, the lowest employment growth in any decade since World War II. As a result, youth employment has plummeted, as older Americans, recent college graduates, and people in their 20s without a college degree increasingly have begun competing with teens for unskilled, low-wage jobs."

Long term, the news source points out the importance of teens getting into the workforce sooner than later. Studies show that working teens have a better chance of earning higher incomes when they hit their 20s, girls are less likely to become teen moms, boys are less likely to get involved with gangs and commit crimes, and that high school graduation rates increase for students with work experience.

Meanwhile, states shouldn??t wait for Congress to pass financial help for youth job programs. Stateline.org notes that legislation that would "provide $600 million to states and localities to continue last year??s youth job programs. But with new spending getting tough scrutiny on Capitol Hill, the emergency funding has little chance of passing anytime soon. By now, it??s getting pretty late into springtime for state or local officials to put together a jobs program for this summer."

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