Youth Unemployment in US – Lessons from the US

With youth unemployment recently reaching all-time highs and in anticipation of further austerity measures in the UK, this report explores collaborative youth employment initiatives in eight US cities with distinctive labour market challenges to identify the factors that lead to effective intervention. 

Collaborative working in the field of youth employment support has taken a variety of forms in US cities in part due to the role of the state relative to other actors and comparatively high levels of city autonomy. The redistributive function of US government spending and relatively low levels of spending on welfare in the US means that private citizens and philanthropic organisations play a more significant role in funding workforce development or employment support activities. US cities have greater fiscal autonomy compared to UK cities giving them greater flexibility and more room to innovate. In addition, the blend of public and private funding allows cities to plug gaps in provision and experiment with new ways of working. Yet funding for programmes often falls short of the level required for provision to reach the majority of youth and adults in need of assistance.

Experience in US cities shows that collaboration can achieve better outcomes by allowing partners to: address the complex issues facing young people; meet employer demand; increase the accessibility of services and create new pathways into employment in a more effective and efficient way while improving their own financial stability.

But some partnerships have been more successful than others. The most effective ones have high levels of employer engagement and direct involvement from employers. Successful collaborations also have strong leadership; shared and measurable goals; support from an intermediary organisation; and monitoring and evaluation systems that encourage continuous engagement and best practice sharing.

Funders and policymakers also have an important role to play in ensuring that the wider policy and funding environment enables and supports collaborative working.

Several recommendations for UK cities and local partners emerge from the study.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at  Overview – Youth Opportunity: Lessons from the US | Centre for Cities.