Analysing a city’s jobs initiative for the young

The city of Chicago is connecting more young people with work than it has in years. The mayor’s office recently announced that nearly 29,000 teens and young adults were hired this summer through One Summer Chicago, a city-led jobs initiative for people ages 14 to 24. That’s welcome news: Research shows summer jobs can reduce youth violence, boost academic and career outcomes and support mental well-being.

It turns out that kids still like responsibility — and the independence that comes with earning their own cash. The One Summer Chicago youth jobs programme has grown under Mayor Brandon Johnson; there were just 20,544 participants in 2022. Johnson pledged in his campaign to double the programme as a violence prevention strategy, according to the Tribune News Service.

Still, the underlying model raises questions. The city partially or fully subsidises these jobs. Without taxpayer funding, many wouldn’t exist. In a stronger local economy, teens would be able to find work without so much government matchmaking.

We should also note that the city’s youth jobs initiative still falls short of pre-pandemic levels, when more than 30,000 young people were hired annually, including over 31,000 in 2019. Demand continues to far exceed supply, with roughly 51,000 applicants competing for limited spots in 2023, due in part to funding constraints and a lack of private-sector partners, according to WBEZ.

Anecdotally, we’ve heard from many Chicago-area families that their teens are having a hard time finding work, even when they want it. As costs increase and wages rise — the statewide minimum wage grew to $15 this year, and Chicago’s is up to $16.60 — many businesses are hiring fewer workers.

And when that happens, young people with less training and experience often don’t make the cut. Look no further than the reductions many Chicago restaurants are making to their workforces.

Restaurants and service jobs are among the most popular for young workers. But as labour costs rise, many businesses are cross-training employees and cutting staff. As we’ve written, Chicago’s decision to continue increasing the tipped minimum wage won’t help.

The good news is that, nationwide, overall youth unemployment has been declining. At the same time, rising school and university attendance has reduced the number of young people participating in the labor force, which in turn lowers the unemployment rate among that group. But like many other economic indicators, Illinois trails the national average. The state’s youth unemployment rate is higher than the US yearly average — consistent with Illinois’ broader trend of elevated joblessness across all age groups compared with the rest of the country.

In Chicago, the challenge is especially acute. More than 45,000 young people ages 16 to 24 were both out of school and unemployed in 2022, a figure that far exceeds both state and national benchmarks. Employment disparities are even starker for Black and Latino youth.

For example, the jobless rate for Blacks aged 16 to 19 nearly doubled in a single year, climbing from 9.4% in 2021 to 17.5% in 2022, according to a 2024 report from the University of Illinois Chicago’s Great Cities Institute. In some predominantly Black neighbourhoods, that number soared as high as 92%.

When it comes to youth jobs, the stronger the economy, the more opportunities there will be for teens trying to make some money while school is out and gain valuable experience.

But even when conditions aren’t ideal, the private sector has a role to play. The city of Chicago’s financial constraints are as tight as we can remember, and the city shouldn’t be the primary provider of summer jobs for teens anyway. As much as they’re able, private-sector employers should make summer work opportunities available and help soak up some of that excess demand for jobs.

Everyone in Chicago will benefit if more of our youth are gainfully employed while school is out.