Young adults hit hard by lack of jobs

I am 21, a graduate of the University of Illinois in Chicago, in debt from student loans, and have been unemployed since October.

I am not by any means alone in this. Debt from student loans (averaging $27,000 per graduate) creates an extremely volatile situation with America's youth. More college students are dropping out due to the mounting costs of schooling. Young adults are then forced to compete with more experienced workers for entry-level jobs as the unemployment rates rise.

This affects both college graduates who are expected to then work at an internship (usually for no pay) while supporting themselves financially, as well as young people without a college education. Unemployment is currently measured to average at about 9.4 percent nationally, but 17.8 percent of people ages 16-24 are currently unemployed. The statistics do not add up.

I do not mean to ask for any sort of sympathy in a time when everyone is feeling the squeeze of recession. I mean to bring attention to the ways in which the recession is affecting different groups and to bring change around this issue.

Currently there is a movement for young people to promote their own employment and awareness of the particular hurdles people my age face. This movement is culminating in a coalition called 80 Million Strong for the estimated 80 million people in the millennial generation.

I am one of many young people who will be participating in a summit in Washington, D.C., to ask congresspeople to consider us when drafting legislation aimed at increasing employment opportunities.

I hope that you find this issue to be as important and pressing as the more than 22 organizations, 150 people attending the summit and a million active members of the 80 Million Strong coalition. Please visit 80MillionStrong.org.

Cheryl Friedman

Buffalo Grove