Today, the Annie E. Casey Foundation released the KIDS COUNT youth employment policy report. The Casey Foundation finds that nearly 6.5 million U.S. teens and young adults are neither in school nor in the workforce. With employment among young people at its lowest levels since the 1950s, these youth are veering toward chronic unemployment as adults and failing to gain the skills employers need in the 21st century. In addition to new national and state data on the issue, the report offers recommendations to support youth in gaining a stronger foothold in the economy. 

  

New York State has many initiatives in place to create a strong and diverse, skilled workforce that meets the needs of our economy. The key to this effort is development of flexible, focused approaches that create opportunities for young people to gain early work experiences to ensure they are on the path required by the current economy.

  

Some of New York State's numerous initiatives include: 

• Career Zone: a comprehensive website that helps youth navigate through the employment exploration process;
• Youth Work opportunities that help the emerging workforce gain work skills and credentials necessary for future employment (e.g., youth summer programs, NY Works, Work Readiness Credential); and
• NY Works: tax credits to businesses that employ youth in areas with high unemployment rates.

This work is being done to ensure that all of New York's young people have access to the American dream of economic prosperity.