This past month, the youth unemployment rate went up from 12.5% to 12.7%.  While overall out economy seems to be continuing to slowly improve – we added 96,000 jobs last month, which lowered the overall unemployment rate from 8.3% to 8.1% – young people are still hurting.

Unfortunately, there are 3.5 million unemployed youth that are actively looking for work and can’t find it, and let’s not forget about the 400,000 young adults who have given up and aren’t looking for work anymore.

We’ve all been in this position or know someone who’s been struggling with joblessness, being underpaid, and not having health insurance. It hurts us financially – our bank accounts, credit scores, and plans for years to come – but it also hurts emotionally, with the day to day toll of searching and waiting.

We’ve all played that temping, waiting and hoping game: after graduating from college for some us, after finishing graduate school for others, or maybe after losing a job.  We felt those feelings of frustration, helplessness, and sometimes despair – they really take a toll.  And 3.5 million young people share those feelings.

There are things we can do during these tough times, though.  In addition to sending our resumes to everyone under the sun, temping, babysitting, cleaning houses, networking like crazy, and waiting for responses, we can also take collective action for our futures.  With the election coming up, candidates running for office are paying attention to young people.  It’s up to us to ask these politicians what they’ll be doing to help solve the youth unemployment crisis.

Want some ideas? Check out the Young Invincibles Idea Book to find out about programs to get young America back to work. Tweet #CanYouHearMeNow at your local media, elected officials, or candidates and ask them for their thoughts on your ideas.