As part of #JobsforYouth Action Week, CLASP, in partnership with New America and the Better Education and Training Taskforce, released Building Back Better: A National Plan for Youth Employment, Prioritizing Young People for an Equitable Recovery.
Young adults in America face long-standing issues that the pandemic has only exacerbated. Prior to the pandemic, young people experienced high unemployment and poverty rates, were saddled with student debt, and faced systemic barriers to getting a good job, staying in school, and having the resources they needed to not only survive but thrive. The COVID-19 economic crisis has only made matters worse and is disproportionately affecting Black, Brown, and Native youth nationwide.
We need a national youth employment and economic strategy. This strategy must center race and gender equity in a government-wide approach to mobilizing leadership and resources. The strategy should provide relief for young people today, promote an equitable national recovery, and reimagine how we support transitions from education to employment and integrate youth into the labor market.
Long-term economic recovery begins with subsidized employment opportunities for all young people. An estimated 23.6 million workers have been impacted by the COVID-19 recession, with young people facing the highest unemployment levels. We need a national subsidized employment program that’s accessible to all young people—especially those left on the economic margins—to alleviate immediate financial distress and to work toward long-term economic recovery.
The federal government has a leadership role to play in supporting young people through relief and recovery but also in advancing equitable systems and addressing long-standing inequality. More than half of all Americans are millennials, Gen Z, or younger. These are the most racially diverse generations in the history of the nation. Our economic viability depends on our determination to invest in them. We encourage Congress and the Biden Administration to prioritize investments in young people in the American Jobs Plan and our collective efforts to build back better.
Read more about the national youth employment and economic strategy
Learn more about subsidized employment opportunities for youth
Join American Youth Policy Forum’s Recovery Must Not Leave Young Adults Behind virtual seminar series today, Thursday May 20th at 1:00 P.M. - 2:15 P.M. ET
CLASP
1310 L St. NW, Suite 900
Washington, DC xxxxxx
United States
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