Youth Unployment at 32.9%- I Wonder Why

Today, the Las Vegas Sun reported that the unemployment for kids is around 32%. From the Sun: Nevada had the fifth highest unemployment rate for teenagers during the 12-month period that ended in January, according to an analysis of numbers collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The figure calculated by the Washington, D.C.-based Employment Policies Institute placed the Nevada teen unemployment rate at 32.9 percent. Georgia led the way with a rate of 37.3 percent followed by California, South Carolina and Washington state. Overall, 25 states had teen unemployment rates that stood above 25 percent throughout 2010, with 1.94 million teens wanting jobs, but not able to find them. “The statistics are devastating. Research shows that teens without job opportunities are at a higher risk for dropping out of high school or winding up in the criminal justice system,” said Michael Saltsman, a research fellow at the Employment Policies Institute and a former economist with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nevada’s teen unemployment rate stood at 32.3 in January 2010; 18.7 percent January 2009; 15.4 percent in January 2008; 17.2 percent in January 2007; and 13.5 percent in January 2006, according to Saltsman’s analysis of the numbers. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/apr/04/nevadas-teen-jobless-rate-329-percent-among-nation/ Gee, I wonder if this has anything to do with it: For the first time since 2006, the minimum wage and daily overtime requirements in Nevada will not increase. State Labor Commissioner Michael Tanchek said today the minimum rates will remain at $7.25 per hour for workers who receive health care benefits and the minimum wage for employees who don't have health benefits will stay at $8.25 an hour for the coming year. An amendment to the Nevada Constitution in 2006 required the labor commissioner to annually determine if the minimum wage should increase based on a formula using an increase in the federal minimum wage and the cost of living. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/apr/04/nevadas-minimum-wage-will-stay-same-year/ Yep, $8.25 is the minimum wage and it is significantly higher than the federal minimum wage. When times were good, the citizens of Nevada passed a constitution amendment to raise the State's minimum wage. This in turn, has caused thousands of people to be laid off in the State and prevented thousands more from being hired. Time to overturn the constitutional amendment and reduce the state's minimum wage to the federal minimum wage.