FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 4, 2015
Contact: Sarah Schultz, sarah.schultz@younginvincibles.org, 202-734-6510

[WASHINGTON] — In November, 211,000 jobs were created, continuing a trend of strong growth seen this fall, with the the national unemployment rate holding steady at 5 percent. Yet for Millennials ages 18 to 34, the unemployment rates remains significantly higher, and this gap even widened slightly in November. This month, the young adult unemployment rate is 7.3 percent (seasonally adjusted), up from 7.1 percent in October. This is over 45 percent higher than the national unemployment rate, and further demonstrates the steep challenges young adults face in today’s economy.

Our research shows that even Millennials lucky enough to find work may still be struggling to set themselves up for careers. Congress should help connect more young people to meaningful work by making important investments in work-based learning opportunities and bolstering the Pell Grant so more young people can get the training and skills they need for quality jobs.

Here are more details on how different populations of young people fared in November 2015:

– The unemployment rate for black/African American young adults ages 18 to 34 is 12.9 percent (not seasonally adjusted) in November, down from 13.5 in October.

– The unemployment rate for Hispanic/Latino young adults ages 18 to 34 is 8.3 percent (not seasonally adjusted) in November, up from 7.5 percent in October.

– The unemployment rate for Asian-Pacific Islander young adults ages 18 to 34 is 5.4 percent (not seasonally adjusted) in November, up from 3.8 percent in October.

– The unemployment rate for white young adults ages 18 to 34 is 5.8 percent (not seasonally adjusted) in October, up from 5.7 percent in October.