[ELURNSERB]

Right in Obama's backyard.

“We’re in the midst of the third summer in a row where teen unemployment has been above 20 percent,” Remember when dimwitted uneducated unsophisticated Conservatives said that raising the minimum wage would cause a lot of teenagers and unskilled workers to lose their jobs??? Hello??? Is 'dis 'ting on?

Average Teen Unemployment Rate in D.C. is 50.1%, Analysis Shows

Friday, August 12, 2011
By Penny Starr

(CNSNews.com) – An analysis based on U.S. Census Bureau data by the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) shows that the average unemployment rate for teens ages 16 to 19 in the District of Columbia was 50.1 percent as of June 2011. This corresponds with data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showing that for D.C. the annual average unemployment rate for teens in 2010 was 49.8 percent.

Michael Saltsman, research fellow at EPI, provided the 50.1 percent figure to CNSNews.com as an update of an analysis he compiled based on the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey.

The 50.1 percent figure is almost double the average teen unemployment rate in June 2007 in the District, when it was 26.2 percent, according to Saltsman.

Since 2007, the rate has increased each year: 29.5 percent in June 2008, 44.7 percent in 2009 and 48.8 percent in 2010, based on EPI’s analysis.

“We’re in the midst of the third summer in a row where teen unemployment has been above 20 percent,” Saltsman said when he announced his report on July 8.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not keep monthly unemployment rates on teens, but its data showing the average annual unemployment rate for teens ages 16 to 19 in D.C. for 2010 was 49.8 percent.

[Fdmnrnba]

Actually, this has a lot more to do with the fact that unemployed adults are vying for the same low-wage jobs that traditionally are the realm of teens. The spike in teen unemployment in DC and nationwide tracks exactly with the increase in unemployment among adults.

And likewise, the businesses offering these low-wage jobs are at minimal staffing levels because the very adults and teens that were their customers in 2007 and prior are not active customers today because of the downturn in the economy.

[BinasiDombrs]

Since when is the President responsible for Washington D.C.? Obama's back yard is Chicago, the state he last represented as far as I'm concerned.

Also as far as I'm concerned, except for summer or weekend employment, or after-hours work, I'm not overly concerned with teen employment. I'd rather see everyone under 22 in school. I'm more concerned with the GOP's record of destroying education and trying to reduce student loan and grant programs.