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KEY FINDINGS IN NEW REPORT ON YOUTH JOBLESSNESS TELL A STORY OF A SILENT EMERGENCY FOR 80 YEARS

On Wednesday, the Alternative Schools Network released a report at The Union League Club of Chicago documenting that youth joblessness has persisted at emergency levels for nearly 80 years without sustained government response.
Report author Matthew D. Wilson of the University of Illinois Chicago's Great Cities Institute explained the study uses joblessness rates—more comprehensive than unemployment—capturing those who stopped seeking work, revealing structural barriers as a long-standing policy failure.
In Chicago in 2024, 81.9% of Black youth ages 16 to 19 were jobless compared with 62.8% of white teenagers; South and West Side neighborhoods exceeded 80%, while Black teen improvement since 2019 trailed white teens by 10.7 percentage points.
ASN requested $80 million in state funding for youth jobs programs, as Melissa Lewis, principal of Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Puerto Rican High School, urged Illinois to 'find ways to productively engage our youth.'
A University of Chicago study tracked approximately 1,700 youth through a seven-week summer jobs program and found a 42% reduction in violent crime arrests over 16 months, supporting evidence that youth employment builds stability and strengthens the economy.

Insights by Ground AI