Black & Hispanic Youth on Chicago's South & West Sides Suffering
Most from 'Sustained Inequality'
CHICAGO, May 15, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- As the nation continues to emerge from the
recession brought on by the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, a new
report on youth employment, Uneven Recovery and
Sustained Inequality after the COVID-19 Recession: Employment for
Chicago's Youth and Young
Adults, shows that not all Chicago communities are recovering at the same
rate and that Black teens especially are experiencing jobless rates
higher than pre-pandemic levels, reinforcing existing
inequalities.
"It's devastating that in Chicago alone there are more than 45,000 16 to
24-year-olds who are out of school and out of work," said
Jack Wuest, executive director of
the Alternative Schools Network. "Statewide there are a total of
163,081 out of school and jobless youth that is more than
Joliet or Naperville in population. The legislature has
an opportunity right now by allocating $300
million for youth employment during this legislative session
to make a difference in these young people's lives."
The Data Brief conducted by the University
of Illinois Chicago Great Cities Institute and commissioned
by the Alternative Schools Network examines joblessness rates of
young people aged 16-24 from 2019-2022 (the latest data available)
in Chicago and Cook County. The report finds that young
people in Chicago overall
experience higher rates of unemployment than the national average
and in the Cook County suburbs,
but teens in primarily Black and Hispanic or Latino neighborhoods
fare far worse than their white counterparts.
Key findings include:
- Higher Youth Jobless Rates: Joblessness
remains worse in Chicago than
Illinois and the U.S especially
for Black and Hispanic or Latino 16- to 19- and 20- to
24-year-olds, with 16- to 19-year-olds in the city having much
higher jobless rates. Overall, there are more than 45,000
16-24-year-olds in Chicago who are
both out of school and jobless.
- Increase in 16- to 19-Year Olds Jobless
Rates: More than 100,000 16- to 19-year olds were
jobless in Chicago in 2022, a
16,000-person increase from 2021.
- More 16- to 19-Year Olds Out-of-School &
Jobless: The out-of-school and jobless rate for Black
16- to 19-year-olds in Chicago
increased to 17.5 percent from 9.4 percent between 2021 and 2022,
while the actual number more than doubled, to 6,527 from
3,197.
- Spatial Inequity Between City &
Suburbs: There was, in some places, a 40 percent
difference in jobless rates between Chicago and the suburbs; the highest rates of
joblessness for both the 16- to 19-year-old and 20- to 24-year-old
age range were clustered on the city's South and West Sides.
- Continued Disparity Between Black v. Hispanic & White
Youth: While the rate of out-of-school and jobless Black
20- to 24-year olds in Chicago
decreased between 2021 and 2022, from 39.2 percent to 29.6 percent,
that level remains substantially higher than the rates among white
and Latino or Hispanic people the same age, 7.9 percent and 15.6
percent in 2022, respectively.
- Large Number of Out-of-School & Jobless in
Illinois: There were 163,081 out-of-school and
jobless 16- to 24-year-olds in Illinois in 2022. Although White 16- to 24-year olds had the lowest
out-of-school and jobless rate in Illinois, followed by Hispanic or Latino and
Black 16- to 24-year olds, the number of White 16- to 24-year olds that were
out-of-school and jobless was higher because they make up a higher
percentage of the state's population. The number of out-of-school
and jobless 16- to 24-year-olds by race in 2022 were:
- 61,288 for White 16- to
24-year-olds
- 44,807 for Black 16- to 24-year-olds, and
- 42,990 for Hispanic or Latino 16- to
24-year-olds.
"This report shows that despite an overall rebound in employment
levels in Chicago since the
pandemic, recovery has been uneven among different racial and
ethnic groups in Chicago," said
Matthew D. Wilson, Associate
Director of Economic and Workforce Development at Great Cities
Institute and one of the authors of the report. "Black and Latino
teens and young adults continue to have high jobless and
out-of-school jobless rates compared to white Chicagoans."
The Importance of Youth Employment
Younger people have
several disadvantages when it comes to looking for work, especially
when they're competing against older people for jobs: lack of
experience and education, less training, and smaller social
networks they can tap for opportunities and referrals.
There are ways for the city to help provide more equitable
employment opportunities for teens and young people. The report
cites two pre-pandemic studies of summer work programs in
Chicago and Boston that show the positive effects of jobs
for disadvantaged young people. These programs give young people
practical work experience, provide them with mentors and people
they can use as references and give them confidence when it comes
to starting a new job.
The Chicago study showed a 43
percent decrease in arrests for violent crimes among the 1,634
disadvantaged teens who participated in the One Summer Chicago Plus
summer work program in 2017. The program cost the city
approximately $3,000 per participant
(including wages and administrative costs), the benefit-cost ratio
from reduced crime could be 11 to 1 for the year youth
participate.
In Boston, researchers surveyed
663 participants in the Boston Summer Youth Employment Program from
2015-2017 before and after their time in the program. The students
showed dramatic increases in their levels of confidence and
connectedness to their communities and that by the end of the
program, nearly three-quarters had prepared a resume and cover
letter, practiced interviewing skills and searched for jobs
online.
"The question is will we have the political will to create
opportunities for this generation or will we falter and repeat the
mistakes that are illustrated by the GCI report findings. Our
children's futures are in our hands. Again, we call on the state
legislature to provide $300
million to support programs that will not only pay off
now but will offer generational dividends in the future."
ABOUT ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS NETWORK
The Alternative
Schools Network is a not-for-profit organization based in
Chicago that supports affiliated
groups who operate education, employment and support service
programs to provide quality education with a specific emphasis on
former out of school inner-city children, youth and their
families.
To read the full report, please go to www.asnchicago.org.
ABOUT GREAT CITIES INSTITUTE
The UIC Great Cities
Institute works to link its academic resources with a range of
partners to address urban issues by providing research, policy
analysis and program development. Tied to the University of Illinois Chicago Great Cities
Commitment, GCI seeks to improve quality of life in Chicago, its metropolitan region and cities
throughout the world. For more information go
to www.greatcities.uic.edu.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
CONTACT: LAURIE R. GLENN
PHONE:
773.704.7246
EMAIL: lrglenn@thinkincstrategy.com
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SOURCE Alternative Schools Network