Progress Illinois

In a tight labor market, those lacking experience don't have a lot of leverage. Now that they're frequently competing with unemployed adults, teenagers looking for gainful employment are feeling the squeeze more than ever. Via the Tribune:

Come summer, when students traditionally step into seasonal jobs, the youth employment rate is expected to hit 34.2 percent in what could be an unprecedented summertime low, the report said. About 33.5 percent of teens ages 16 through 19 had a job during the first three months of the year, the most dismal rate recorded since 1948.

For city kids whose neighborhoods lack retail businesses, the challenges of finding employment are even larger. Nationwide, half of all middle-income white teenagers work during the summer compared with 20 percent of low-income teens of color. Joblessness among black Chicagoans between ages 16 and 19 reached 85 percent in 2006, the last year data was made available.

As part of his $150 million anti-violence plan unveiled earlier this month, Gov. Blagojevich proposed spending $30 million for a summer jobs program aimed at employing young people between the ages of 15 and 22. He also urged the Illinois congressional delegation to support companion bills in the U.S. Senate and House that would provide as much as $1 billion for communities nationwide to implement similar programs.

But according to the Tribune, the governor's plan "hinges on the adoption of a capital bill." Meanwhile, the federal legislation is yet to pick up significant support. As a result, teens this summer may be out of luck.