Secretary Solis Calls on Local Leaders to Help Create Summer Job Opportunities

On Wednesday, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis joined hundreds of local officials from across the country to talk about Summer Jobs+, a new call-to-action for businesses, non-profits, and government to provide pathways to employment for low-income and disconnected youth in the summer of 2012.  

As Secretary Solis noted, President Obama has been a champion and advocate for summer jobs since the beginning of his Administration, providing funding through the Recovery Act that funded summer jobs for 372,000 young people in 2009 and 2010.  In 2011, as part of the American Jobs Act, he proposed $1.5 billion for high-impact summer jobs and year-round employment for low-income youth ages 16-24 in the Pathways Back to Work fund. When Congress failed to act, the President took action and brought government and the private sector together with commitments to create nearly 180,000 employment opportunities for low-income youth in the summer of 2012, with a goal of reaching 250,000 employment opportunities by the start of summer.

On the call, Secretary Solis asked each participant to do five things to expand opportunities for youth employment:

• Encourage local partners to join Summer Jobs+. Local companies that have made or are interested in making summer youth job commitments can register their commitment on www.dol.gov/summerjobs  and link their job announcements to the Summer Jobs+ Job Bank making it easier for youth to get more information and apply for the opportunities.
   
• Have your city/county/municipality make a commitment to Summer Jobs+. Your local government can highlight expanded and new commitments to hire summer youth through the Summer Jobs+ initiative and be listed on our website and posted in the jobs bank.
   
• Embed the Summer Jobs+ Bank into local government websites. When the Summer Jobs+ Bank goes live in March you can embed the widget onto your website, making it easy for youth to find summer opportunities by their local zip code.
   
• Host a Summer Jobs+ Fair. Cities and communities can co-host a Summer Jobs+ Fair which can bring together Summer Jobs+ employers with other local employers from your city to directly connect young people to these employment opportunities.
   
• Amplify the message of Summer Jobs+. Talk about the importance of providing opportunities for youths at public eventsor write a Summer Jobs+ blog post.

President Obama and Secretary Solis are taking the lead and making a strong call to action on summer jobs.  We know this issue is an important one for local officials and their citizens, so we urge you to take this challenge.  We stand ready to support your efforts. 

Check out the Summer Jobs+ website where you can find the list of companies who have committed to provide youth opportunities and download a toolkit for connecting youth and business.