On Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported that teenager’s work rates fell during the recession and have not been able to recover.  “A decade ago, a 16- or 17-year-old boy was twice as likely to have a job as his 70-year-old grandfather,” wrote Ben Casselman of The Wall Street Journal. “Today, the grandfather is actually more likely to have a job than the boy.”

As a part of Sen. Sanders’ effort to fight youth unemployment he has introduced legislation that would provide $1.5 billion over two years for states and local communities to help find jobs for more than 400,000 unemployed 16- to 24-year-olds. Currently, the official unemployment rate for that age group is 16.2 percent. Sanders’ legislation passed the Senate in June as a part of the immigration reform bill. 

“This program will help hundreds of thousands of young Americans find jobs and earn the skills they need to build strong careers,” Sanders said. “At a time when the unemployment rate for these young people is twice that of the rest of the country, it is absolutely imperative that Congress help them find jobs. The establishment of a youth employment program for 400,000 young people is a good step forward in addressing our unemployment crisis. Obviously more needs to be done in the months to come.”

Read The Wall Street Journal article here »

Read more about Sen. Sanders’ youth jobs provision here »