PHILADELPHIA - Youth employment in America is at its lowest level since World War II, according to a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Stephanie Gambone, executive vice president with the Philadelphia Youth Network explains one reason why.
"Young people are competing for jobs with not only other youth but with adults who are in the workforce who might have been displaced," she says.
Many entry-level jobs no longer exist. Gambone says this past summer her network placed 8,000 youth in jobs, but 8,000 others remained on the waiting list.
The issue, according to Gambone, is especially critical for youth from low-income families.
"Young people definitely want to earn a little extra money for themselves," she says. "But a lot of the young people we serve, this is income that's going into their households."
It's not just a matter of placing a youth in a job, she says.
"We not only put young people into employment experiences, but we make sure that there are pre-employment trainings and ongoing support so that they can be successful," Gambone says.
Philadelphia Youth Network contracts with 50 youth-serving organizations in Philadelphia to place youth in jobs.
get more stories like this via email
April is Second Chance Month, with extra focus on helping people with a criminal past keep from becoming repeat offenders.
In steering Minnesota youths away from a troubled path, experts said public messaging needs a reset. Recent survey findings from the social issues firm Fenton Communications showed a majority of Americans think violent crime rates for youth are on the rise.
Jennifer Hahn, chief client officer for Fenton, said in a forum hosted by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the numbers have actually been going down, except for isolated pockets. She noted the public still hangs onto a certain mindset for when a young person is accused of committing a crime.
"There still is this very sticky belief that punishment works," Hahn observed.
Hahn suggested such beliefs muddy the conversation about pushing ahead with effective interventions. On the brighter side, many survey respondents felt meeting a child's basic needs, such as access to health care, leads to better outcomes. Hahn pointed out that recognition can be a useful tool for churches, local leaders and others trying to elevate youth programs.
Hahn advised youth advocates should not flat out reject how the public feels about crime, even if one's sentiments conflict with the data. One reason is not everyone will be convinced. Instead, she hopes public discourse leans more on the role strong communities play in shaping youth, because it already resonates with a lot of people.
"Let's get safe spaces so that kids can do this," Hahn urged. "Let's support parents because it's challenging. Let's help local communities offer more job opportunities or recreation programs."
Overall, Hahn recommended a balanced approach of weighing the facts and engaging in stories about positive community responses. She encouraged people, no matter their role in the discussion, to stop using terms such as "juvenile delinquent," saying they feed into harmful assumptions.
State data show between 2012 and 2022, the number of Minnesota children arrested each year for serious crimes was nearly cut in half.
get more stories like this via email
By Vanessa Davidson / Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi reporting for the Kent State-Ohio News Connection Collaboration.
Around 1,000 more people moved into Ohio than moved out of it in 2023, according to Census data.
At the same time, Ohio is aging: Between 2010 and 2024, the percentage of Ohioans aged 65 and older increased from 14.1% to 18.7%, which is about one percentage point higher than the national average.
“Younger people are more likely to move to pursue job opportunities, and there are lots of opportunities in Ohio, but they're not all evenly distributed,” said Robert J. Graham, senior research scholar and associate director of Scripps Gerontology Center at Ohio’s Miami University.
Because younger adults tend to concentrate in urban areas for jobs, rural areas are experiencing the impact of an aging population the most.
“There are some [people] that say, ‘Hey, I want to go to college. I want to increase my education and get new opportunities,’ or ‘I'm looking for jobs,’ and those jobs tend to be created in more urban areas, or suburban [areas], and the rural areas in particular are seeing the face of that,” Graham said.
“They're having an increasing aging population and decreasing number of young adults and people to fill important services that are needed in their communities,” he added.
On the other hand, according to a 2025 data study from SmartAsset, Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland saw an influx of new residents in 2023. Columbus saw an estimated 75,500 (around 8.4% of the city’s population) adults between 25 and 44 move in. Newcomers in that age range accounted for 6.9% of Cincinnati’s population and 6.4% of Cleveland’s.
Forbes included Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus on its 2024 “best cities for young professionals” list.
In addition to employment opportunities, cities like Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus in Ohio allow for more cultural and social diversity compared to their rural counterparts.
“Cleveland has a wide range of cultures, a large food scene, some very, very, very good public museums, gardens,” said Kent State junior fashion design major Lily Blackburn, who is from Illinois. “The city’s very beautiful, the architecture is really cool, the nightlife is not bad, the [art] museum is free, [and] the botanical gardens are really cool.”
Still, many Ohioans opt to move to other states.
“If I'm being honest, I would not look here in Ohio for jobs that are inside my major,” said Blackburn, the KSU student.
According to Census data, in 2023, around 18,500 Ohioans moved to Florida and around 13,500 to Texas. (Around the same number of people moved from Florida to Ohio, but only 8,500 Texans moved to Ohio.) Between 11,000 and 13,000 moved to each of Ohio’s neighboring states of Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Indiana.
“If you look at some of where state populations are growing — a lot of the growth over the past couple of decades has taken place in areas in the South. So, Texas and parts of the Carolinas and Florida and Georgia, places like that,” said Jacob Duritsky, vice president of strategy, research and talent at TeamNeo.
According to Duritsky, there’s not a single driving force behind that migration. Factors like diversity, the job market and climate all contribute.
“What's actually happening is our economy is diversifying,” said Jacob Duritsky. In Northeast Ohio, he said, “We're seeing healthcare growing. We're seeing professional services growing. So, along with the decline of manufacturing, that was offset by gains in other industries.”
Some cities, including Cleveland, are finding ways to incentivize younger residents to stay.
“The [Cleveland] Town Alliance has a whole strategy around college retention,” said Duritsky. “We have tens of thousands of students who are going in our institutions. I think one of the best opportunities we have is to start to retain those people in greater numbers.”
Ohio saw its highest-ever total number of jobs in 2024. Duritsky believes that’s key to keeping young people in the state.
“If we can keep our educated young people here by giving them opportunities to find internships and first jobs, by getting them into the community and experiencing all this sort of social and civic life that's here, I think that's one of the ways we start to move the dial,” said Duritsky.
This collaboration is produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.
get more stories like this via email
Indiana's third grade reading scores show progress but gaps remain.
The latest IREAD3 results show about 82% of students passed in 2024, up slightly from the year before. But scores are still below pre-pandemic levels. Special education students, English learners, and low-income children struggle the most.
Tami Silverman, president and CEO of the Indiana Youth Institute, said early childhood shapes literacy skills and many Indiana children lack access to quality early learning.
"We know that 27 of Indiana's 92 counties had proficiency levels below the state average," Silverman observed. "That's actually up from prior years, so that's five more than what it was."
Several programs help close gaps, including On My Way Pre-K, which gives low-income children access to preschool, Reach Out and Read Indiana promotes early reading and Dolly Parton's Imagination Library sends free books to kids. A $9.5 million Lilly Endowment grant will expand after-school and summer reading programs.
Indiana is aiming for 95% reading proficiency by 2027 but Silverman pointed out financial struggles create more barriers.
"Some of those financial hardships bring on stressors like food insecurity, housing instability," Silverman outlined. "All of those things inhibit early learning, including but not limited to literacy."
get more stories like this via email
Contact
