White House Announces Summer Jobs+ Program

The White House has just announced Summer Jobs+, a program that will work with nonprofits and businesses to create work for low income families this year.  Here is an excerpt from an article about it that The NonProfit Times just posted:

The White House announced Summer Jobs+, a call to action for businesses, nonprofits, and government to work together to provide pathways to employment for low-income and disconnected youth during the summer of 2012.


American youth are struggling to get the work experience they need for jobs of the future. According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (Current Population Survey), 48.8 percent of youth between the ages of 16-24 were employed in July, the month when youth employment usually peaks. This is significantly lower than the 59.2 percent of youth who were employed five years ago and 63.3 percent of youth who were employed 10 years ago.


Minority youth had an especially difficult time finding employment this past summer. Only 34.6 percent of African American youth and 42.9 percent of Hispanic youth had a job this past July.


Summer Jobs+ was initially proposed as a $1.5 billion for high-impact summer jobs and year-round employment for low-income youth ages 16-24 in the American Jobs Act as part of the Pathways Back to Work fund. When Congress did not approve the legislation, the White House started working with private-sector employers to commit to creating nearly 180,000 employment opportunities for low-income youth during the summer of 2012, with a goal of reaching 250,000 employment opportunities by the start of summer, at least 100,000 of which will be placements in paid jobs and internships.

Read more about Summer Jobs+ on The NonProfit Times.