Obama Administration, Businesses Partner to Create 180,000 Youth Jobs, Opportunities

Dozens of private companies and non-profits are partnering with the Obama administration to create summer jobs for low-income and disadvantaged young Americans, with businesses already committing nearly 180,000 such positions for the summer of 2012.

In an announcement this morning, the White House said the move—called the Summer Jobs+ program—was part of President Obama’s “We Can’t Wait” campaign, a series of executive actions and proposals intended to combat efforts by Congress to block job creation ideas. The president introduced ways to ease student loan debt as part of the “We Can’t Wait” effort in October.

The president’s American Jobs Act proposed creating a Pathways Back to Work fund, and Obama requested $1.5 billion in funding to create both “high-impact summer jobs” and year-round positions for low-income Americans from 16-24. Congress, however, failed to act on the legislation.

“America’s young people face record unemployment, and we need to do everything we can to make sure they’ve got the opportunity to earn the skills and a work ethic that come with a job,” the president said in a statement. “It’s important for their future, and for America’s.”

Partnering companies range from CVS—which will hire more than 20,000 young Americans—to Gap, which will support 80,000 young people in various ways. Many of the businesses will provide summer paid internships.

Organizations are asked to provide support in up to three ways: paid internships or permanent positions; life skills training, including resume and interview coaching; and work skills, which include job shadowing and internships. The program will also feature a website, Summer Jobs+ Bank, featuring opportunities and resources.

Youth employment has suffered in recent years, with just 48.8 percent of those 16-24 holding jobs in July, down from 59.2 percent five years ago and more than 63 percent a decade ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The White House notes that statistics are worse for minority youth, with just slightly more than one-third of black youth employed in July 2011.

“While young people who are currently disconnected from school or work are not contributing to our economy, we see these young people as ‘Opportunity Youth’—because of the untapped potential they bring to the Nation,” Patty Stonesifer, the chair of the White House Council for Community Solutions, said in a statement. “Summer jobs are an important step—and to stay on the path to success, Opportunity Youth need social supports and access to relevant education, mentoring and training.”

A new report [PDF] released this morning from Stonesifer’s council shows that, in 2011, American citizens “shouldered more than $93 billion in direct costs and lost tax revenue to support young adults disconnected from school and work.”

Brian Stewart is the journalism and online communications manager at Campus Progress.

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