The New York Times is reporting that young workers are faring the worst in New York City economically, a city which has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic. By September 2020, 19 percent of adults under 25 years of age in the city lost jobs, compared with 14 percent of all workers. Young adults are especially vulnerable because they are overrepresented in service industries that have been decimated by social distancing restrictions.
The pandemic job losses have especially hurt young workers who are Black, Hispanic, or do not have a college degree — they have even higher rates of unemployment than younger workers as a whole. Finding work will likely get harder as the virus surges, leading to tighter restrictions on indoor dining and nonessential businesses.
The consequences of losing a job as a young worker — including lower wages, fewer prospects, and long-term hardship — may reverberate for years.
Seedco’s experience, as cited in the article, is that many young workers are being pushed aside by older, more experienced job seekers; the organization’s placements among young workers is down by two-thirds this year. While service providers are trying to help young workers to weather this crisis, even hiring them directly, young workers are finding fewer options for in-person job programs, support services, and training classes.
The New York Times is reporting that young workers are faring the worst in New York City economically, a city which has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic. By September 2020, 19 percent of adults under 25 years of age in the city lost jobs, compared with 14 percent of all workers. Young adults are especially vulnerable because they are overrepresented in service industries that have been decimated by social distancing restrictions.
