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New Report Calls Unemployment Rates A Crisis for Young Mainers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 17, 2013
Contact:
Rae Roca
Rae.roca@younginvincibles.org
202.378.3526

New Report Calls Unemployment Rates A Crisis for Young Mainers
In Maine, the unemployment rate for young adults is 16.5 percent

[AUGUSTA, Maine] – In a time of across-the-board budget cuts, dismal job prospects continue to leave young Americans unsure about their economic future. Currently, young adults face a national unemployment rate of 16.5 percent, which is over twice the national average. In Maine, the outlook is bleak, where the overall share of young Mainers with a job dropped from 63 percent in 2005 to 54 percent today.

Today Young Invincibles released a comprehensive analysis of unemployment for young Mainers. The fact sheet, GET THE FACTS About Youth Unemployment in Maine [http://jobs.younginvincibles.org/%EF%BF%BCget-the-facts-about-youth-unemployment-in-maine/], gives an in-depth look into how economic opportunity for young adults in Maine has fallen drastically in the past decade, illustrating that the proportion of young workers in Maine employed full-time has dropped thirteen percentage points since 2005.

Studies show that the inability to gain early work experience dims career prospects for a lifetime; if we do not act now, this crisis could have far-reaching economic consequences for all Mainers. Young Invincibles is leading the charge to solve this issue by conducting a national tour to highlight the need to continue to push for policies that double down on workforce training and higher education that will safeguard our country’s economic future. For information please visit http://jobs.younginvincibles.org/.

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Young Invincibles is a national organization committed to amplifying the voices of young Americans, aged 18 to 34, and expanding economic opportunity for our generation. Young Invincibles ensures that young Americans are represented in today’s most pressing societal debates through cutting-edge policy research and analysis and innovative campaigns designed to educate, inform and mobilize our generation to change the status quo.