YOUTH AND WORK KIDS COUNT POLICY REPORT PATRICE CROMWELL FEBRUARY 11,

2 Data: Employment Declining for Youth, Especially Teens Source: CPS data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Ages Percent of Persons Who Are Employed

3 Data: State-by-State Disparities Employment Population Ratio (ages 16 – 19) Percent of 16- to 19-year-olds who are employed Highest Employment: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska Lowest Employment: California, Florida, Georgia Source: PRB analysis of CPS data

4 Data: 6.5 Million Disconnected Youth Source: CPS data from the Center for Labor Market Studies, Northeastern University. Youth struggling the most are less educated, come from low-income families and belong to a racial or ethnic minority Among these 6.5 million disconnected youth, 21% are parents with young children in the home Disconnected Youth Adults Ages 20 to 24 Disconnected Youth Ages 16 to 19

5 Youth and Work: Skills Gaps Economy has changed: fewer jobs, outsourcing, technology advancements More skills needed: Today’s workers need increased education credentials Businesses are hiring older, more experienced workers Number of people: 91 million 154 million 32% 40% 12% 9% 7% 11% 30% 17% 10% 21% 11% Jobs Increasing for College vs. High School Graduates Source: March CPS data, various years; Center on Education and the Workforce.

6 Youth and Work: Challenges and Opportunities Challenges –Public systems serving youth are often not well aligned, especially workforce and education –Federal programs have different funding goals, eligibility criteria, performance measures and tracking Opportunities –Local regions coming together to create comprehensive education, training and jobs programs for youth –Effective skill-building programs showing promise: Youth Corps, Career academies with early work experience, sector training and bridge programs to college

8 Youth and Work: Guiding Principles for Action Build on the national momentum underway and the partnerships that have emerged over the last few years Ensure young people’s voices and youth leadership are a key part of the work going forward Make closing racial and economic disparities the central focus of the work going forward Build solutions from what is showing promising results on the ground

9 Youth and Work: Six Recommendations for Action Promote a national agenda and public policy reform –Set national goals, allow for flexible funding, target resources to disconnected youth Invest in local collaboratives in sites to create multi-stakeholder partnerships –Bring employers, public agencies and communities together to align programs and resources Scale up effective programs –Build on what works: programs with education, training and mentorship plus work Promote social enterprise and microenterprise opportunities for youth –Foster entrepreneurship Help share employer best practices and incentivize youth hiring nationally -- Earn/learn partnerships Take a two-generation approach – link programs for young parents and supports for young children in the same family –Consider supports for the children such as early childhood education

10 Youth and Work: Summary National momentum underway about improving youth opportunities –White House Office of Community Solutions and many partners here today like the Corps Network are improving youth policies and opportunities Casey eager to take part in the conversation. With our partners, we can: –Scale effective practices and build evidence –Bring focus on most-vulnerable disconnected youth: youth in foster care and juvenile justice system and teen parents –Support expanded business role in providing work experiences