Why do we struggle to hire young people?

The unemployment rate dipped to 4.8% in September, from 5.2% in August, although some of that decline resulted from people dropping out of the workforce.

Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons

Why do we struggle to hire young people?

Rates of joblessness for people ages 16 to 24 are worse in Chicago and Illinois compared to the U.S. overall.

The unemployment rate dipped to 4.8% in September, from 5.2% in August, although some of that decline resulted from people dropping out of the workforce.

OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images

By Lynnea Domienik Meha Ahmad

The pandemic affected employment in a massive way, but it especially affected young people. And not all young people have recovered or been able to make their way into the workforce. That’s the case for Black and Latino teens and young adults in Chicago, where youth unemployment rates have been consistently higher than the national average. Between 2019 and 2021, unemployment nearly doubled among Black women between ages 20 and 24.

Reset learns why and what efforts there are to address these barriers.

GUESTS: Matthew Wilson, associate director of economic and workforce development at the the Great Cities Institute - University of Illinois Chicago

Gabrielle Caverl-McNeal, senior director of employment and academic coaching at New Moms

Illinois State Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago)