Generation Opportunity, a national, non-partisan youth advocacy organization, released last week its January 2015 Millennial Jobs Report The data is non-seasonally adjusted (NSA) and is specific to 18-29-year-olds:
The effective (U-6) unemployment rate for 18-29-year-olds, which adjusts for labor force participation by including those who have given up looking for work, is 14.2 percent (NSA). The (U-3) unemployment rate for 18-29 year olds is 9.7 percent (NSA).
The declining labor force participation rate has created an additional 1.837 million young adults that are not counted as “unemployed†by the U.S. Department of Labor because they are not in the labor force, meaning that those young people have given up looking for work due to the lack of jobs.
The effective (U-6) unemployment rate for 18-29-year-old African-Americans is 20.8 percent (NSA); the (U-3) unemployment rate is 16.4 percent (NSA).
The effective (U-6) unemployment rate for 18-29-year-old Hispanics is 14.6 percent (NSA); the (U-3) unemployment rate is 10.5 percent (NSA).
The effective (U-6) unemployment rate for 18-29-year-old women is 12.1 percent (NSA); the (U-3) unemployment rate is 8.2 percent (NSA).
Patrice Lee, Director of Outreach for Generation Opportunity, said, “Our generation continues to lag behind the overall economic revival, as the youth unemployment rate still stands at an unacceptable 14.2 percent.”
The report revealed one out of every five young African Americans is out of work.
“African-American young adults are fifteen times more likely to be in prison than their white counterparts, ” said Lee. “Incarceration leads to a 40 percent decrease in annual earnings and higher unemployment among those who need opportunity the most. That’s not to mention the lack of second chances for former ex-non-violent offenders who have served time and are trying to rejoin society as productive members.”
She added, “As our policymakers continue to work toward greater economic opportunity for all Americans, let’s not forget the struggles that our generation still faces – especially in communities of color, who continue to experience disadvantages as a result of our broken criminal justice system.”