Sad State of Affairs: 16% of Kids in NY are Neither Working Nor Going to School
And yet the youth vote nationwide helped propel the man whose economic policies have extended such trying times to another four years in office.
Via the Associated Press:
Sixteen percent of teens and young adults in New York are neither in school nor the workforce, part of a national problem that could lead to “dire consequences” for the younger generation’s financial stability, according to a new report.
The latest Kids Count report released Monday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation said high school dropouts are having a harder time landing traditional entry-level jobs in retail and fast-food restaurants due to competition from older candidates with more experience. Front-line service providers add that the recent recession has added to the problem.
“You’re competing with people that are in the workforce now that have diplomas,” said Jeff Nixon, youth services manager for the Buffalo Employment and Training Center. “You’ve got people with college degrees that are competing for some of these lower-wage jobs. And obviously for an employer, if they have a choice between somebody with a college degree and a kid that’s a dropout, that’s a no-brainer.”
Nationally, there are 6.5 million youth 16 to 24 years old who are neither in the workforce nor in school — about 17 percent of that age group, according to the report. New York accounts for 406,000 of those young people, according to the foundation.
Mental Recession 