Any society with large numbers of young adults struggling to find work is unstable. Disconnected youth are more likely to turn to criminal behavior, become addicted to drugs and end up in poverty. Even a six-month period of unemployment for someone in his or her early 20s can hurt that person’s prospects of social mobility.
While Chicago has attempted to address the underlying issues of joblessness through various public and private programs, its situation remains particularly bleak. The unemployment rate for young adults ages 20-24 is 19.4%, according to recent data, and for young African Americans this rate is 37.4%. And of course, neither of these figures speaks to the massive underemployment of millions of young people earning wages that leave them impoverished by every measure.
The trickle-down effect of all of this is devastating. The less educated frequently lose jobs to their college-educated peers, further exacerbating the unemployment crisis of the least equipped. Young adults who lag in education and work skills often fail to earn enough to provide for themselves and their children.
This is unacceptable, plain and simple. There is so much more that can and must be done, particularly in the areas of training and hiring.
There are at least three actions that would start to correct this massive unemployment and underemployment, and city and state lawmakers should be talking about them.
First, they should consider new tax credits that provide small businesses with incentives to hire people who might ordinarily struggle to find work, including those with few skills, ex-felons and some veterans. The stigma against hiring young people with criminal backgrounds is particularly strong. Given the high rates of incarceration in communities of color, often for minor or non-violent offenses, this only perpetuates a vicious cycle of crime and high unemployment.
Some larger employers have taken a commendable lead in this effort that will hopefully be emulated by others. JPMorgan Chase recently announced a partnership in Chicago with local nonprofits in which it will recruit more formerly incarcerated people. Lawmakers can bolster such initiatives by funding outreach programs to educate small businesses in the social benefits of hiring workers with unconventional backgrounds.
Second, state lawmakers should build on existing efforts at City Colleges of Chicago, Skills for Chicagoland’s Future and other organizations to better integrate community colleges into workforce development efforts. Illinois already has one of the nation’s largest community college systems, with 48 community colleges. All of these colleges are ideal places to educate and train young people for work in their local areas.
Too many employers today require or expect candidates to have four-year degrees for positions that don’t really necessitate them. Not only does this discriminate against those who can’t afford to attend four-year colleges, but it means that a qualified segment of the workforce is being underused. Employers need to be better connected with community colleges to understand how school programs align with their hiring needs.
Third, lawmakers should create more stand-alone summer jobs programs for young people of school age. Since the federal government has failed to authorize meaningful summer youth programs for more than 30 years, Illinois must create its own programs and expand efforts such as One Summer Chicago. These programs need to be well integrated with public school systems.
Such programs help young people develop marketable skills and provide experiences that look good on college applications. They also keep school-age teens busy during the summer break, when they are most vulnerable to becoming involved in activities that are harmful to themselves and their communities. The University of Chicago Urban Labs initiative did a study in 2013 that found that a summer program providing minimum-wage jobs for six weeks reduced violent crime by participants by 33% over the previous year.
Young adults in the Chicago area carry a disproportionate burden of joblessness. And if young people can’t envision a better future for themselves, the future of the city, state and country suffers accordingly.
Leo Hindery Jr. is co-chair of the Task Force on Jobs Creation, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the former CEO of AT&T Broadband.
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