Youth Employment

According to the Fund for Our Economic Future, Strengthening Workplaces report, “Beyond the effects of the pandemic on people’s preferences, priorities, and challenges, Northeast Ohio’s workforce is changing because its demographic composition is changing.” According to the World Economic Forum, Gen-Z will account for over a quarter of the workforce by 2025.

According to the World Economic Forum, Gen-Z will account for over a quarter of the workforce by 2025. The demographic shift between Generation Z (Gen Z) born between 1997 and 2012 and Baby Boomers born between 1946 and 1964 is seismic. Today, there are more Gen Z workers in the labor force than Baby Boomers.

According to Forbes Magazine (July 2023), “The young adults are well-versed in various technologies, including artificial intelligence, software, and social media.”

Some work part-time or summers only, while others see full-time permanent employment as their path to economic independence.

Employment can benefit youth by teaching responsibility, organization, and time management and helping to establish good work habits, experience, and financial stability.

There are many advantages to working during high school, especially for low-income youth, including higher employment rates and wages in later teen years and lower probabilities of dropping out of high school.

Knowing how to find and keep a job is critical for admission to the adult world and an important survival skill for which there is little in the way of formal, structured preparation.

Lead Agency for the MyCom Network Youth Employment: Youth Opportunities Unlimited

Youth Opportunities Unlimited (Y.O.U.) is a nonprofit workforce development organization based in Cleveland, Ohio. For over 40 years, Y.O.U. has served teens and young adults ages 14-24 living in under-resourced areas in Northeast Ohio.

Y.O.U.'s mission is to prepare teens and young adults to become economically self-sufficient contributors to building Northeast Ohio’s educated, skilled, and inclusive workforce.