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Teen Unemployment Rates Drop
Illinois teenager and young adult employment rates dropped to historic lows over the past decade. New numbers indicate that employment rates plunged 20 percentage points from 1999 to 2009.

A report being released Tuesday by the Chicago Urban League highlights the lower employment rates across the nation and in Illinois. The numbers are based on a study conducted by the Center of Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Massachusetts.

Senior research assistant Joe McLaughlin says the economic recession is the main reason for the drop. That, coupled with competition from other age groups, created a large population of underutilized young people.

McLaughlin says teenagers are not the only people affected. Because the age groups 16-19 and 20-24 are making little money, they are paying fewer tax dollars. He says renewing the federal government’s summer jobs program would help the situation. McLaughlin also says state and local school districts should expand school-to-career opportunities.

Minority teenagers are at even more of a disadvantage. According to McLaughlin, low-income black teenagers were employed at a rate of 13 percent in 2009, while affluent, white non-Latinos were employed at a rate of 48 percent.

(Illinois Radio Network)
01 26 10 by Newsroom
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