While unemployment among youth remains high with a staggering 16.1 percent of young Americans out of work, advocates call for more youth programs and community involvement to tackle the issue.
āMore federal money needs to be prioritized for funding the expansion of youth job programs on local levels,ā said Mission Beacon Program Administrator, Valerie Tulier. āItās just a shame there arenāt more programs to guarantee that youth jobs are available.ā
Mission Beacon is a youth and family oriented organization in San Franciscoās Mission district that focuses on developmental programs that help educate young people for lifeās challenges. In a growing competitive workforce more of these types programs are needed.
āThe government could be tackling this issue more directly by offering more viable and technical job skills at a high school level,ā said Education Specialist for San Francisco Unified School District Stephen Jackson. ā(Youth) need valuable skills that can be applied immediately in a wide variety of ways when entering the workforce.ā
The June 2013 Millennial Job report data released by Generation Opportunity, a non-partisan youth advocacy organization, shows an increase from 11.1 percent in April 2013 to 11.6 percent in May 2013 in unemployment among youth ages 18ā29.
Given the precarious job situation, a growing number of young Americans are finding themselves unable to pay their student loans. āI would like to be able to go back to school so I can get a job that will make paying off my pre-existing student loans possible,ā said San Francisco State Graduate Jen Simon. āIt feels like Iām not even making a dent.ā
This āboomerangā effect delays young peopleās ability to put money back into their communities.
āThe healthier a community is economically, the more jobs that will become available,ā said Tulier. āThe more people working in a community, the more that community will be able to flourish.ā