Return to the Latest

Youth Unemployment Remains High in July

We’ve heard from young people all over the country that they’ve had a tough time finding a job this summer. Today, the United States Labor Department confirmed it once more. Though the economy added 163,000 jobs in July, few young people saw gains. The unemployment for people ages 16 to 24 dropped slightly from 16.5 percent in June to 16.4 percent this month. The total number of youth jobs and the size of the youth labor force didn’t change much.

These numbers aren’t a surprise to us. During our bus tour this past spring we heard from young people from all walks of life about their struggles to find employment. One group of 16 to 18 year olds in foster care in Cleveland shared their frustrations. These high school students wanted to go to college one day, but in the meantime they also needed to work.  But no one, not fast food restaurants or anyone else, were hiring. Unfortunately, this wasn’t unusal; we heard this same story from young adults nearly everywhere we went.

Quailman

Despite the challenges before us, our generation remains optimistic. Young Invicibles looks to build on that outlook in the months ahead by releasing a series of policy solutions capable of tackling youth unemployment. We’ve already talked about the need for more national service jobs that can get this generation back to work and help their communities at the same time. We look forward to working with young people all over the country to ensure our leaders at all levels of government hear and respond to our concerns about jobs.

Having trouble finding a job yourself? Share your story with us here.