Young workers see employment gains

Young workers are landing jobs again. Some 650,000 workers aged 16 to 24 found employment in the past three months, the biggest spike for that age group since the recession began, according to Labor Department statistics. Young Americans were hit harder than most other groups during the Great Recession; the percentage of 16- to 24-year-olds with jobs fell to as low as 44.6% of their age group, down from 52.2% at the start of the recession. Certainly, people of all ages suffered. But the share of those in their working prime, age 25 to 54, who had jobs fell only 5 percentage points to 74.7% at its worst, while the percentage of employed older folks held fairly steady. Since August, however, young people have been flooding the workforce. They account for nearly two-thirds of the rise in employment in the past three months, with older workers making up the rest. It's likely they are finding work at retailers, restaurants and other service-related employers. These industries have been boosting their payrolls lately and their workforce often skews younger. "This is a promising indication, but the question is whether it will continue," said Harry Holzer, a professor at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute. Also, experts worry about the quality of the jobs. It would be great if companies were bringing on young workers and training them so they can one day move up the employment ladder, said Paul Ashworth, the chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics. But it's more likely they are in lower-wage positions, such as clothing store clerks or waitresses.
http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/01/news/economy/young_workers_employment/index.htm?iid=SF_E_LN