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CLASP Reports on Job Creation

Creating Work and Learning Opportunities for Low-Income Populations

In October 2009, the official unemployment rate was 10.2 percent, but in fact one in six workers (17.5 percent of the workforce) were either unemployed, involuntarily working less than full-time or so discouraged that they were no longer looking for work. Unemployment is worse for people of color, teenagers just entering the labor market and those with only a high school education or less. This lack of employment can have lasting consequences. Skills and work habits deteriorate when workers are idle for extended periods. Children in unemployed households bear the burden of stress and constrained resources. And long-term career prospects of young people are diminished when they enter the labor market during times when no jobs are available. Communities with high unemployment cannot provide support structures that stabilize vulnerable families.

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