FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 6, 2013

Contact: Colin Seeberger, colin.seeberger@younginvincibles.org, 214-223-2913

Young Adults Fall Further Behind Recovery

[Washington, DC] — As the national unemployment rate fell slightly to 7.3 percent and the economy added 169,000 jobs in August, the unemployment rate for 18 to 29 year-olds ticked up to 11.8 percent from 11.6 percent in July (not seasonally adjusted*). For younger workers ages 16 to 24, the unemployment rate remained at 15.6 percent (seasonally adjusted).

Rory O’Sullivan, Policy and Research Director at Young Invincibles, said, “Young adults faced a disappointing end to the summer. With over 3.5 million unemployed young people under age 30 we face serious long term consequences for the country in the form of lower wages and reduced economic growth. The Great Recession put our generation in a big hole and we still have a long way to climb out. We need our leaders in Washington DC to stop squabbling with one another and get to work to help our generation get back on track.”

Here is more information on how different populations of young people fared in August 2013:

• The unemployment rate for Black young adults ages 16 to 24 in August was 27.3 percent compared to 28.2 percent last month (not seasonally adjusted).
• The unemployment rate for young Latinos ages 16 to 24 in August was 17.6 percent – it was 18.1 percent last month (not seasonally adjusted).
• The unemployment rate for young men ages 16 to 24 in August was 17.2 percent compared to 17.6 percent last month (seasonally adjusted).
• The unemployment rate for young women ages 16 to 24 in August was 13.9 percent, compared to 13.4 percent last month (seasonally adjusted).
• Overall youth unemployment for 18 to 29 year-olds is 11.8 percent compared to 12.7 percent a year ago in August 2012 (not 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.