The United States economy added 169,000 jobs in the month of August, but that number means little to young people, as youth unemployment remained relatively unchanged.
In the month of August, youth unemployment increased slightly, from 11.6 percent in July to 11.8 percent, according to a report from the nonprofit youth organization Generation Opportunity.
That report, released Friday to coincide with with the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ numbers, showed that the effective unemployment for 18-29-year-olds — which is adjusted to include those who have given up looking for jobs — remained about the same from July, dropping to 16 percent from 16.1 percent.
So as the White House touts “solid job gains” and the August jobs report as “another sign of progress,” Millennials aren’t experiencing the so-called economic recovery.
“Whatever is happening in the broader economy, young people are not seeing any increase in their economic opportunity,” Evan Feinberg, president of Generation Opportunity, told Red Alert Politics. “Life is not easy for Millennials, and it’s getting no better.”
Even more telling, the majority of jobs created this year have been part-time positions, jobs that would seemingly be ripe for young Americans. But young people haven’t been able to land those jobs either, Feinberg said.
And with the debut of Obamacare’s insurance exchanges on Oct. 1, as well as the likelihood of another debt ceiling increase, the immediate future doesn’t show any additional promise for young Americans. Feinberg said that significant spending cuts would help young people get out of their tough economic plight.
“Unfortunately, there seems to be little appetite in Washington to actually cut spending, and if they’re unwilling to cut spending, all we’re going to see is continued high unemployment for the younger generation,” Feinberg told Red Alert.
