Now Hiring
Author: Stix, Margaret
Date: 2012-05-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Employment Opportunities,Demand Occupations,Young Adults,Urban Youth,Youth Employment,Allied Health Occupations,Hospitality Occupations,Office Occupations,Transportation,Telecommunications,Retailing,Facilities Management,Semiskilled Workers,Entry Workers,Pharmacy,Allied Health Personnel,Utilities,Promotion (Occupational),Banking,Food Service

Even before the Great Recession began, an alarming number of young adults in New York City between the ages of 18 and 24 were neither in school nor working. The employment challenges for these New Yorkers have only magnified in recent years. There are now an estimated 172,000 of these &quot;disconnected youth&quot; in the five boroughs. Though the overall economy is again on the upswing, the city's unemployment rate stands over 9 percent--and young adults with low levels of educational attainment and limited work experience are among those who are having the hardest time finding decent paying jobs. Although many young adults in New York understandably wonder whether they will ever be able to access jobs that provide a pathway to the middle class in an economy where more and more of the decent-paying jobs require a college degree, the outlook isn't all bleak. The Center's research has identified 26,000 openings a year for much of the next decade in 26 occupations that older young adults could realistically fill. Seven of these are among the top 16 occupations &quot;with the most expected hiring&quot; in New York City, according to projections made by the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL). Many of these employment opportunities will result from natural job turnover. For instance, NYSDOL projects that job turnover will result in thousands of openings a year in entry level occupations such as office clerk. Demographic and social changes will create thousands more. The number of New Yorkers aged 65 and over is expected to grow 35 percent by 2030, leading to employment growth in sectors such as healthcare, transportation, and office and administrative support. Across three healthcare occupations--pharmacy technicians, medical assistants and certified nursing assistants--there are projected to be 970 job openings a year. These trends present a unique chance for helping New York's young adults gain a foothold in the workforce. But, as the authors detail in this report, making the most of this opportunity will require new strategies and policies from both city policymakers and the private and nonprofit workforce development providers who work with this population. This study follows the Center's &quot;Chance of a Lifetime&quot; report, published in 2006, which concluded that the anticipated retirement of tens of thousands of Baby Boomers would create an unprecedented opportunity for New York City to move significant numbers of young, at-risk New Yorkers into decent-paying, career-track jobs. That report profiled seven industries with projected job growth, modest entry qualifications and solid career prospects--from health care and construction to automotive repair and information technology. Much has changed since 2006. For instance, the construction industry has lost thousands of jobs and, at least for now, no longer holds as much promise for young people. Similarly, many of the anticipated retirements in fields such as health care did not happen as the financial crisis prompted many older workers to continue working. At the same time, however, the challenges facing disconnected youth today are arguably even more pressing. In this report, the authors update and expand their analysis in light of the current economic climate. (Contains 7 tables and 52 endnotes.) [Funding for this report was provided by JobsFirstNYC.]