WASHINGTON — The release of a Bureau of Labor Statistics report earlier this month shows that only 32,000 jobs were created in July.
Experts were expecting 215,000 to 247,000 new jobs.
Hidden in the report, according to leaders of the Children’s Defense Fund, is the exceptionally unsettling picture for minority youth.
In July, the CDF says, the jobless rate for African American youth hit a historic high and the rate for Latino youth was near the all time worst. The jobless rate for all 16- to 19-year-olds reached 56.1 percent in July, while the jobless rate for African American youth reached 75.1 percent and Latino youth reached almost 66 percent, according to the CDF.
The fund says that the Bush administration and Congress “could do much more to create jobs and lift families out of poverty.”
For example, fully funding the Child Care and Development Block Grant (a major source of childcare funding) would generate an additional 1.8 million teaching positions. This childcare assistance would also enable the parents of 13,450,000 children to work and attend higher education programs to update their skills and increase their income.
The CDF says that there are other remedies the federal government can also employ.
For example, fully funding the 21st Century Community Learning Centers would generate 554,272 jobs, which would offer up to 6 million children a supervised place to go after school.
If Head Start were fully funded within the current framework of the law, to serve all eligible children, 135,644 jobs would be generated. Further, if Early Head Start were fully funded within the current framework of the law, it would generate at least 807,821 in additional jobs,” the CDF adds.
“Today’s children are the backbone of tomorrow’s economy,” said Deborah Cutler-Ortiz, director of the Family Income division at the Children’s Defense Fund.
“The current dismal jobs report clearly calls for action. Instead of passing more tax breaks, which is not stimulating the economy nor creating jobs, the Bush administration should do more to lift families out of poverty by investing in programs that help children,” Cutler-Ortiz added.
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