Mayors Release Zogby Survey on Business Hiring of Summer Youth

Local Leaders Vow to Get Every Business to Hire a Young Person Each Summer

WASHINGTON, Jan. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Nearly 30 percent of businesses hired youth (under age 23) for the summer of 2012, according to a new survey released today by The U.S. Conference of Mayors and Zogby Analytics, during the 81^st U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting held in Washington, D.C. The survey is meant to establish a baseline of the degree to which businesses provide summer jobs for the nation's young people.

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"A summer job has always been a right of passage for youth and young adults as a way to develop pertinent skills, earn a  little extra money, or begin a new and exciting career," said one of the reports authors, John Zogby, "but the survey data does not present a rosy picture for youth/young adult summer employment." According to the report, two-thirds of respondents did not hire any youth/young adults for the summer of 2012.  Also, 84.3 % of respondents say they did not make a (financial) contribution to a summer jobs program. 

But the report did find a silver-lining. Of the 29.7 % of companies that did hire youth, 61.6% said they were likely to hire more youth/young adults for the summer of 2013.  Of those companies, the overwhelming majority (73.7%) characterized the skills and educational capacity of the youth/young adults they hired as excellent (25.3%) and good (48.4).

"These survey results show that there is tremendous potential for cities, the private sector and the foundation community to work together to increase the participation of our business sector in hiring youth next summer," said U.S. Conference of Mayors President Philadelphia Michael Nutter.  "We thank those businesses and foundations who hired youth in 2012. But we really want to raise the bar and partner even more closely with every business across America, and encourage all of them to hire young workers every summer."

The Conference also released a Summer Youth Partnerships publication at the meeting giving examples of how 14 cities worked with the private sector and community organizations to provide summer job opportunities.

Summer Youth Programs make it possible for young people to develop job skills at a young age,  learn how to manage their own paycheck, help save for future education, and gain confidence in their future.

"Young people are facing a crisis to obtain the employment and skills needed to succeed," said Kerry Sullivan, president, Bank of America Charitable Foundation. "This survey serves as a baseline for change and we encourage Mayors to ask for support in establishing and sustaining programs that connect our youth to opportunities that provide valuable knowledge and skills for future employment."

The survey was sponsored by the Bank of America Charitable Foundation which during the summer of 2012 partnered with mayors across the country to provide funding for over 800 teens to intern at nonprofits in 20 cities.

SOURCE The U.S. Conference of Mayors