Teen Unemployment In Major U.S. Cities Tops 50%

Old timers often say that the young people in the U.S. today don’t have the work ethic of their predecessors. This may be true, but is this perceived weakness a symptom of a greater problem? Has the opportunity for many young people to find employment diminished, and thus made it harder for them to learn the necessary work ethic on the job?

Before we try to answer that question, let’s examine some evidence from a new analysis by the Employment Policy Institute (EPI) that shows unemployment among teens without a high school diploma is greater than 50% in two very large cities. CNS News reports:

Using U.S. Census Bureau data from May 2013 to April 2014, the analysis reveals that in Riverside-San Bernardino area of Southern California, the unemployment rate for teenagers 16 to 19 years old who don’t have a high school diploma is 54.2 percent.

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