Unemployment Rate in Teens at “Crisis:” Expert

More than 1 million young adults have become so frustrated in their search for a job, that they’ve given up and left the labor force, according to published reports.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, 1.3 million workers ages 16 to 24 left the labor force since the recession hit in December 2007.

That's about 6 percent of them, and it's nearly 3 1/2 times the exodus rate of workers ages 25 to 54, the Sacramento Bee reported.

The unemployment rate for young adults is at a crisis rate according to Dean Baker, a co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a nonpartisan economic and social research center in Washington, D.C.

Only 55 percent of 16- to 24-year-olds are working or even looking for work, the Bee reported, compared with 59.1 percent when the recession started.

"I think it's incredible that this hasn't been talked about more seriously," Baker told the Bee. "We've got people coming out of school, and there's nothing there for them. What are they going to do, sit around and hang out in the street for two or three years, however long it takes for the economy to recover? Because no one thinks it's going to recover quickly."

If you're one of those looking for work, some of the best places to look for summer jobs include government-run youth programs; resorts and vacation spots; camps and amusement parks; child- and elder-care providers; moving, packing and lawn-care companies; movie theaters, restaurants, and clothing or accessory stores, according to Teens4Hire.org.

Also, SnagAJob.com offers job listings by zip code along with resources for those young people just entering the job market.

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