Georgia ties California for worst teen jobless rates

[marmar]

http://blogs.ajc.com/business-beat/2011/07/08/georgia-ties-california-for-worst-teen-jobless-rates/


Georgia ties California for worst teen jobless rates
10:59 am July 8, 2011, by Henry Unger


Georgia is tied with California for the states with the worst teen unemployment rates, according to a new study released Friday.

Georgia and California both had average annual jobless rates for 16-19-year-olds of 34.6 percent, the nonprofit Employment Policies Institute said. The figures cover the period from June 2010 to May 2011.

“Young people are facing more competition for fewer jobs, a lingering consequence of the recession and wage mandates that have eliminated entry-level opportunities,” Michael Saltsman, EPI research fellow, said in a statement. “The consequences for this generation of young people missing out on their first job are severe, including an increased risk of earning low wages and being unemployed again in future years.”

States with worst teen jobless rates from June 2010 to May 2011

1. Georgia and California — 34.6 percent

2. Nevada — 34.3 percent

3. Washington — 33.2 percent

4. North Carolina — 32.1 percent

5. Idaho — 31.8 percent

6. West Virginia — 30.2 percent

7. Missouri — 29.6 percent

8. Florida — 29.4 percent

9. Kentucky — 29 percent

10. South Carolina — 28.5 percent

[Xithras]

1. My 17 year old daughter has never had a job, and has been looking since she was 15.

There's a huge functional bias against teen employees here in California right now. When an employer has two applicants...one a teenager who wants money to buy more tunes for her iPod, and another looking for a third part time job to help feed her three kids...which would YOU hire? I haven't seen a teenager working in a McDonalds for several years now.

[saras]

2. It's not just that...

Because, like most employers, I'd hire the CHEAPER one.

When your daughter has been desperately job-seeking until she has three kids, then she'll have the kind of desperately servile attitude that will qualify her for work at McDonalds.

[Rex]

3. How can teens find jobs that us older adults now hold out of desperation?

No one wants to flip burgers at 50, but will gladly do so if it means they have a roof to sleep under at night. I feel for the next generations, it is going to suck hard for them.