We Can't Wait: White House announces nearly 300,000 summer jobs and other employment opportunities for youth and new online tool to help youth access opportunities May 7th, 2012

PHILADELPHIA - Today, Secretary Solis will join Mayor Nutter at Philadelphia's City Hall to announce that the administration has secured additional commitments from 95 companies and nonprofits, three cities, two federal agencies and the White House to provide 110,000 new summer jobs and other employment opportunities for low-income and disconnected youth this year as part of the Summer Jobs+ initiative for a total of nearly 300,000 opportunities. Employment opportunities include 90,000 paid jobs and thousands of mentorships, internships and other training opportunities. The administration will also launch the Summer Jobs+ Bank, a new online search tool to help connect young people to jobs, internships and other employment opportunities this summer and year-round.
"In January, we called on the private and public sectors to help us address record unemployment among America's youth. Today, we are proud to announce that cities, federal agencies, nonprofits, and companies from across the country have come together to provide hundreds of thousands of summer jobs and employment opportunities for our young people," said President Obama.
"The Summer Jobs+ Bank and the growing list of organizations stepping up to answer the president's challenge are important to maintaining our commitment to the next generation of the American workforce," said Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis. "There's no replacement for the dignity that comes with earning your first paycheck, and whether young people are looking for a job at the retail store around the corner - or at a national park states away - they now have one place to start their search."
The president proposed $1.5 billion for high-impact summer jobs and year-round employment for low-income youth ages 16-24 in the American Jobs Act as part of the Pathways Back to Work fund. When Congress failed to act, the federal government and private sector came together in January to commit to creating nearly 180,000 employment opportunities for low-income youth in the summer of 2012, with a goal of reaching 250,000 employment opportunities by the start of summer. Since the announcement of the initiative in January, nearly 100 more private sector partners nationwide have answered the president's challenge to provide young people summer jobs, mentorships, internships and other opportunities to build skills.
As pathways to careers, summer employment is critical to the success of young people, good for business and important for our country. But today's youth are struggling to get the work experience they need for the jobs of the future: last summer, the unemployment rate among youth ages 16-24 set a near-record high, and only 21 out of 100 low-income teens had a job. According to a recent report, taxpayers shouldered more than $93 billion in direct costs and lost tax revenue to support young adults disconnected from school and work in 2011 alone.

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