Teenage Job Program

Teens lack jobs despite job effort, By Garance Burke (AP), September 23, 2009, Washington Post: “The Obama administration’s economic stimulus program to find jobs for thousands of teenagers this summer couldn’t overcome one of the bleakest job markets in more than 60 years that had desperate adults competing for the same kind of work. Almost one-quarter of the 297,169 youths in the $1.2 billion jobs program didn’t get jobs, as more adults flooded the labor market seeking similar low-wage positions at hamburger stands and community pools, according to an Associated Press review of government data and reports from states. Congressional auditors warned Wednesday that the government’s plans to measure the success of the federal program are so haphazard that they ‘may reveal little about what the program achieved.’ The new report from the Government Accountability Office also said many government officials, employers and participants believe the program was successful…”