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Young Invincibles Hails Bill to Expand Apprenticeships, Connect Young Adults to the Workforce

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

April 9, 2014

Contact: Colin Seeberger, colin.seeberger@younginvincibles.org, 214.223.2913

Young Invincibles Hails Introduction of Booker-Scott LEAP Act to Expand Apprenticeships, Connect Young Adults to the Workforce

Youth Unemployment Rate Is More Than Twice the National Rate

[WASHINGTON]—Today, Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Tim Scott (R-SC) introduced the Leveraging and Energizing America’s Apprenticeship Programs “LEAP” Act, a bill designed to combat chronic, high young adult unemployment by incentivizing employers to increase the number of apprenticeships available to young people. The LEAP Act would specifically target relief for the young unemployed by granting companies a $1,500 tax credit for hiring new registered apprentices under 25 and a $1,000 tax credit for those 25 and older. It also rewards companies with existing apprenticeship programs if they expand them, particularly to those under 25.

“Making sure that young people have the skills they need to succeed in their careers is key to driving down youth unemployment and maximizing their economic opportunities,” said Rory O’Sullivan, Policy & Research Director of Young Invincibles. “Apprenticeships do just that. We know that youth unemployment costs every American, so we applaud Senators Booker and Scott for working across the aisle to combat this profound crisis.”

Earlier this year, a new report from Young Invincibles found that high youth unemployment costs federal and state governments—thanks predominantly to lost tax revenue—over $25 billion annually, representing an average annual cost of over $171 per taxpayer.

According to the March 2014 Bureau of Labor & Statistics labor report, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for 16 to 24 year-olds is 14.5 percent, whereas the national unemployment rate is 6.7 percent. The report also found that the unemployment rate among young black workers is a staggering 23.6 percent (non-seasonally adjusted).

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Young Invincibles is a national organization committed to amplifying the voices of young adults, ages 18 to 34, and expanding economic opportunity for our generation. Young Invincibles ensures that young adults 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.