Describing the Dimensions of the Current Labor Market Crisis in the U.S., Center for Labor Market Studies-1/19/2010

Most national macroeconomic models project little to no net employment growth through the middle of next year. Overall unemployment, as even indicated by Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke, is likely to rise through the fall of the coming year, 2010. Joblessness and labor underutilization problems will worsen over this time period. The country must act now to help put America's youth and adults back to work in a cost effective and transparent manner.

Dire Straits for Many American Workers: The Economic Case for New Job Creation Strategies in 2010 for the Nation's Teens and Young Adults (20-24), Center for Labor Market Studies, January 2010

The nation's teen (16-19) and young adult (20-24 year old) job markets have continued to collapse during the past year, dropping all of these young groups' employment rates to new post- World War II lows. Over the October-November 2007 to November-December 2009 period, the number of employed teens in the U.S. declined by nearly 25% while the number of employed 20-24 year olds fell by nearly 11%. As noted in the bar graph on the cover page, the job loss in relative terms (-25%) among the nation's teens in the Great Recession is greater than it was for all workers (16+) in the Great Depression of the 1930's (1929-1933).3 The employment losses for young workers far exceeded those of all other age groups. Among older persons (55+), however, total employment at the end of this period was actually higher than it was prior to the beginning of the recession.

In June 2008, Governor Deval Patrick released his Education Action Agenda, a comprehensive strategic plan that charts the course for the next phase of education reform in Massachusetts. The Action Agenda set as a primary goal the creation of an integrated system of education to meet the learning needs of every student in the Commonwealth, thus providing all students with the supports and skills necessary to meet the stateâ??s rigorous educational standards, and to help them become successful and productive members of the workforce and their communities. Governor Patrick established the Child and Youth Readiness Cabinet (the Cabinet), comprised of the Secretariats of the state agencies, with primary responsibility for serving children, youth and families. In April 2009, Public Consulting Group (PCG) was retained to clarify the crossagency vision for a statewide integrated data sharing and reporting system as outlined by the Governor and the Readiness Cabinet, and to draft a strategic plan with actionâ?Ìoriented recommendations to help the Cabinet begin to make concerted, measurable efforts toward achieving its vision.