THE REAL UNEMPLOYMENT SITUATION - GOVERNMENT IS 'COLORING' REAL FIGURES

Submitted by: Donald Hank

December's Millennial Jobs Report: Youth Unemployment at 11.5 Percent

Real job opportunities elude young adults in 2012 as seasonal hiring keepsunemployment rate artificially low 

Washington, DC – (1/4/13) – Generation Opportunity, a national, non-partisan organization advocating for Millennials ages 18-29, is announcing its Millennial Jobs Report for December 2012. The data is non-seasonally adjusted (NSA) and is specific to 18-29 year olds:

• The overall unemployment rate for 18-29 year olds for December 2012 is 11.5 percent (NSA).

• The unemployment rate for 18-29 year old African-Americans for December 2012 is 22.1 percent (NSA); the unemployment rate for 18-29 year old Hispanics for December 2012 is 12.2 percent (NSA); and the unemployment rate for 18–29 year old women for December 2012 is 10.4 percent (NSA).

• The declining labor force 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 unemployment calculations, the actual Millennial unemployment rate would rise to 16.3 percent (NSA).

“Expected seasonal hiring is likely keeping youth unemployment artificially low, and young people know all too well that a temporary job over the holidays is not a long-term solution. The fact is that 2012 marked yet another year in which Millennials were unable to find real opportunities in the vocations for which they trained and are qualified. This meant another year just scraping by, falling further behind on student loan payments, living at home with Mom and Dad, sending out hundreds of resumes, and filling out numerous job applications, all with little or no result. This was another year without hope for a generation eager to apply their skills and get in the game," said Matthew Faraci, Senior Vice President for Communications at Generation Opportunity and a former U.S. Labor Department spokesperson. “As Washington argues over short-term fixes, Millennials are wondering why their elected leaders continue to ignore critical issues such as unprecedented youth unemployment as well as the larger concern of addressing the nation's underlying fiscal challenges." 

December 2012 marks the 49^th consecutive month with national unemployment above 7%. Read more about Jobs and Unemployment on Generation Opportunity’s website.

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