Why Youth Employment Matters
Why does this matter?
There is a strong correlation between youth employment and working as an adult. Without work young people are missing out not only on the economic advantage of working, but the opportunity to develop critical "soft skills" -- working in teams, showing up on time, problem solving, customer service, etc. -- that are crucial to long-term employability. A critical set of skills many employers see lacking in today's workforce.
We are feeling the multiplier effect in our own families and communities. As localities continue to face rising costs, these are potential taxpayers not on the roles. The time is now to do something -- because if we don't we will have even more New Yorkers out of work in the coming years.
In New York, there has been incremental recovery in youth employment, however their unemployment rate is still significantly higher than the overall unemployment rate. We estimate that 12% of youth in New York are unemployed, with New York City youth unemployed at a rate of 17%. While this has improved since 2010, JobsFirst NYC reports that all job growth for young people is in part-time work; fulltime jobs have decreased during the economic recovery. Read more in NYATEP's 2019 State of the Workforce Brief.
How bad is it?
High unemployment exacerbates growing economic inequality. By comparison, wages and incomes for young adults today are lower than wages and incomes for prior years. Many youth are participating in the gig economy, a term used to describe the wave in independent contracting, to work several contingent jobs.
Unemployment Rate for Youth in New York
Ages 16 - 19: 20.7%
Ages 20 - 24: 11.6%
All New Yorkers: 4.2%
What can we do?
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FUNDING: Nearly all sites across the state had unmet need. We ask that the Legislature take into account the unmet need when determining the dollar amount to allocate in 2020 and the increase in the minimum wage,
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MORE WORK SITES: A diverse set of employers -- public/private/non-profit -- provide for a range of employment experiences for youth. We urge employers to connect with their local workforce systems to understand how they can provide these critical opportunities for youth.
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SPREAD THE WORD: We need New Yorkers talking about this issue! The future of our economy depends on investment in and the preparedness of our youth!
What are some the biggest challenges programs struggle with?
The challenges that consistently came up across many counties were the need to develop more funding, transportation across the county, working with participants in summer school, and finding appropriate jobs for youth ages 14-15.
Click here to hear from programs themselves on the biggest challenges they face!
What are some the biggest successes of the programs?
The successes that consistently came up across many counties were youth who received job offers, businesses who asked extended the program to keep youth longer, being able to place youth in their dream jobs and high rates of successful completion!
Click here to hear from programs themselves on their biggest successes this year!
For the summer of 2018, 18,909 youth across New York State participated in summer youth employment funded by the $31 million from the New York State Legislature and Governor. For the programs submitted this summer, youth were placed at over 14,384 worksites.
The number of youth served is about 500 less than 2017, while the number of worksites increased by 2,684.
58% youth that applied to the programs featured on this site did not receive a slot. Many of the programs had to turn away youth due to available funding.
Other reasons youth were turned away was a failure to complete all of the program information.
About Summer Youth Programs
Summer youth employment programs across the State vary in size and funding. Due to the importance of this issue, many local areas supplement their State funding with local tax levy, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act funds, and private dollars, increasing the total number of youth served substantially.
Who are the programs that submitted this year?
This year the following programs submitted youth profiles to be included on this site. Together they served over 3,500 youth at more than 250 worksites across the State.
Broome County
Buffalo and Erie County
Cayuga-Cortland
Clinton County - SWEET
Columbia Greene Workforce
Delaware County
Dutchess County
Essex County
Fulton County - PIC SYEP
Franklin County
Genesee County
Hempstead Works!
Jefferson-Lewis
Livingston Youth Employment Program
Montgomery County - FMS SYEP
Niagara County
Onondaga County
Orange County - Newburgh, Middletown and Port Jervis, NY
Orleans County
Ontario County
Ostego County
Oswego County - Youth Works
Rochester Works Summer Youth
Rockland County
Saratoga Summer Youth
Schenectady County Youth Employment Cooperative
Schoharie County - FMS SYEP
Seneca County
Suffolk County
Tompkins County
Ulster County
Warren County
Wayne County - 2017 TANF SYEP
Westchester County
Wyoming County
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The New York Association of Training & Employment Professionals (NYATEP) is a 501(c)(3) membership organization serving the workforce development community throughout New York State. Only NYATEP provides the leadership, vision and advocacy for a thriving workforce in New York State. Our focus is ensuring that every New Yorker and employer in New York State has access to the skills they need to work in, and support a robust statewide economy.
* Source: American Community Survey, 2015