sharmin hossain
GRITtv: The Jobs of Summer: Youth Unemployment
Students graduating or looking for summer employment in 2010 are facing the worst labor market in at least a generation, according to Heidi Shierholz, a labor economist with the Economic Policy Institute. Young people are often the last hired and the first fired, and state budget crises have seen cuts to programs from MetroCards for students in New York to after-school programs and academic counseling. To discuss the ongoing effects of youth unemployment, both now and on the futures of those affected, we talk to Shierholz and Sharmin Hossain, a youth organizer here in New York City.
Email this pageGRITtv: Are the Kids All Right?
It's not easy being a kid these days. Jobs are more difficult to find, college tuition costs continue to rise, and the military is seeking to ramp up its recruiting to fight foreign wars. The national teen unemployment rate is now estimated at about 24 percent, as the economy remains in decline and out of work adults vie for and replace teens in jobs usually reserved for a younger crowd. Figures are even worse for minorities. So what do America's youth have to look forward to? Mo Beasley, contributing writer to "Be A Father To Your Child" and an instructor at Medgar Evers College, youth activists Sharmin Hossain and Zaire Small of the Ya-Ya Network, and Fransesca Smith, a counselor at Camp Homeward Bound on what kids are doing to cope with the financial crisis.
