Economic Prospects for Young Adults During the Recession

Findings by the Economic Policy Institute, published in their May 2010 Briefing Paper:

• Since the start of the recession, an additional 1.2 million 16-24-year-olds have become disconnected from both formal schooling and work. 
• The class of 2010 will be entering a labor market with the highest rates of unemployment in at least a generation.
• Unemployment rates for both college graduates and non-graduates younger than 25 are nearly double their pre-recession levels.

Recessions Can Scar Children's Futures

I agree with Katie Couric that one story that hasn't been told is the impact of the recession on children and youth -- not just current struggles, but implications for the future.

Research by the Economic Policy Institute indicates the recessions create long-term hardships for children and families, putting children's futures at great risk.

Economic crisis is unraveling social safety nets across the nation

The National Council of Nonprofits recently released a report titled: A Respectful Warning Call to Our Partners in Government: The Economic Crisis Is Unraveling the Social Safety Net Faster Than Most Realize.

The report indicates that nonprofit organizations throughout the nation are struggling to meet growing demand for services at the same time that their operating costs are rising and their revenues falling.

Tim Delaney, President and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits explains that, "The economic threats to nonprofits and the communities we serve are real and dire. It is both unrealistic and unsafe to those depending on services to simply assume that nonprofits will somehow be able to continue to deliver more services that cost more with declining revenues. The math just doesn't work."

This report encapsulates data from GuideStar, the Listening Post Project at Johns Hopkins University, the Bridgespan Group, and the Nonprofit Finance Fund, as well as state non-profit associations in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and New Jersey.

Rather than asking for additional funding from the federal and state governments, the report calls on government officials and nonprofit leaders to collaborate more effectively to meet growing community needs.

Impact of Recession on Children

The Foundation for Child Development has released a report on the impact of the current economic recession on children.

They project that the percentage of children living in poverty is expected to reach 21 percent by 2010, and that many gains in family economic well-being since 1975 will be eliminated.

Graph from Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Meanwhile, First Focus reports that, for the past five years, only one penny of every new, real non-defense dollar spent by the federal government has gone to children and children’s programs.