With steadily dropping employment rates, it’s more difficult than ever for the youth of America to get hired. While these rates apply directly to teenagers, this economic issue affects and should concern everyone.
According to an article in Bloomberg Businessweek, “For Job-Hunting Teenagers, the Market is Brutal,” today’s teenagers are suffering from unemployment rates worse than those seen in the Great Depression. The  economic decline is rippling to young adults ages 20 to 24 who follow as the second worst performing group in the labor force.
Before I got to college, I experienced this phenomenon first hand. Like most parents, mine got tired of paying for everything and not-so-subtly pushed me towards employment. I took the resume I had drafted in one of my classes, listed my ultra-high GPA and confidently applied to the local frozen yogurt shop.  They didn’t call me back. That summer, I stopped by tons of restaurants, groceries and clothing stores looking for some way to earn money that summer with no success. This experience was quite a blow to my self-esteem. I considered myself to be an intelligent, personable, professional, presentable, energetic and hard-working individual. I couldn’t believe I was having that much trouble getting a minimum wage job.
While I was able to eventually get a job, it stands that job hunting is disheartening for teenagers and anyone else attempting to start out in the world of work.
A study by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston found in 2011 the national employment rate of teenagers had sunk to 26 percent, which is nearly 20 percent lower than in 2000.  The Center for American Progress published the article, “The High Cost of Youth Unemployment,” in which Policy Analyst Sarah Ayres explained workers who are unemployed as young adults statistically earn lower wages as they age, mainly because they didn’t get the work experience or the chance to develop skills.  
In other words, the issue of unemployment is self-perpetuating. The longer you don’t have a job, the less likely employers want to hire you because of your lack of experience, but you need that experience to move forward.
It’s so easy to blame the economy and become inactive, but don’t. As the great World War II leader Sir Winston Churchill once said, “Never, never, never give up.”
Since my froyo experience, I have added a slew of work experiences to my resume, including several professional and internship positions. While the economic data can be scary, you can’t let numbers darken your outlook. One of my marketing professors, David Faucheux, told me companies will always make room for employees who show they can improve the organization.
My advice to anyone stuck in the depressing rut of unemployment is to be proactive and ignore the statistics. Develop your passions, always look for opportunities, network like crazy, ask tons of questions and keep smiling.  Don’t let a bunch of nerdy economic analysts determine your future.