Workforce News
Youth Employment: An Overview of Youth-Friendly Careers in Ramsey County
15 March 2021
Through an ongoing partnership between RealTime Talent and Ramsey County Workforce Solutions, the following report seeks to understand and address the workforce opportunities and challenges present for youth employment in Ramsey County.
As 2020 started, Gen Z-ers entered one of the strongest global job markets seen in decades. That promising outlook was shattered quickly by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with unemployment soaring and carrying along with it the youngest workers, who are over-represented in service industries, struck hardest by restrictions on movement, activities, and businesses. The report identifies several key issues for youth in the workforce, including:
- Underemployment of young workers has doubled between 2019 and 2020, with one-third of young workers being underemployed nationwide (unemployed, “marginally attached,” or part-timer seeking full-time work) in the COVID-19 labor market. Underemployment rates were highest for young Black and American Indian men.
- The negative economic impacts of job loss and economic disruption on young workers will likely persist for years.
