MA Young Adults More Unemployed Than National Average

Thursday, April 04, 2013

GolocalWorcester News Team

A national non-partisan group, Generation Opportunity, is taking a look at how well young adults ages 18-29 are coping with the economy. The group is expecting another wave of numbers in the coming days, and judging from past month’s figures, things aren’t looking up for the state’s young adults.

The survey looked at Millennials – or adults ages 18-29 – and how levels of unemployment are going month to month.

"Sadly we've taxed-and-spent our way to an economy in which there's intense competition for just about any job," said Evan Feinberg, President of Generation Opportunity. "Combine that with government meddling in the student loan market that has artificially inflated the cost of higher education and young people are getting screwed over even worse than the country overall."

The Numbers

Last month, Generation Opportunity released non-seasonally adjusted (NSA) unemployment data for Millennials for February 2013.

The youth unemployment rate for 18-29 year olds specifically for February 2013 was 12.5 percent (NSA).

The youth unemployment rate for 18-29 year old African-Americans for February 2013 was 22.8 percent (NSA); the youth unemployment rate for 18-29 year old Hispanics for February 2013 was 13.4 percent (NSA); and the youth unemployment rate for 18–29 year old women for February 2013 was 11.5 percent (NSA).

The declining labor participation rate has created an additional 1.7 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.

If the labor force participation rate were factored into the 18-29 youth unemployment calculation, the actual 18-29-unemployment rate would rise to 16.2 percent (NSA).

This will be the first report since President Obama nominated controversial Justice Department official Thomas Perez to succeed Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor. If confirmed, Perez will likely pursue the ambitious agenda set forth in the President's State of the Union Address, including a minimum wage hike to $9/hour.

How MA Stacks Up

Recent numbers in the Bay State aren’t any better.

According to MassBudget, In 2011, 13.8 percent or close to one in seven young adults (ages 16-24) in Massachusetts are unemployed. This is a dramatic increase—more than doubling—of the youth unemployment rate in 2000, which was 6.7 percent, or one in fifteen.

"President Obama says America should be 'investing in the generation that will build its future,' yet four years of his government-driven economic policies have left us with record youth unemployment and an economy that is literally shrinking. My generation is suffering disproportionately," said Terence Grado, Director of National and State Policy at Generation Opportunity. "Instead of staying the course and doubling down on failure, we need a new strategy that encourages the private sector to grow, invest, and provide real opportunities for the millions of young people who have great skills, are ready to contribute, and have waited long enough."

The unemployment rate for young adults is almost twice the unemployment rate for all adults. Even though the impacts of the recession may be easing off, the unemployment rate for young adults in Massachusetts increased substantially as the recession hit, and has remained high since then, rising into the double digits.

The unemployment rate for all adults dropped slightly between 2009 and 2011, while the unemployment rate for young adults has essentially remained unchanged.