What we aim to solve

The focused need R3 seeks to address is black youth labor force (16 – 24 years old) participation rates in East St. Louis. The economic effects of joblessness as a youth drastically affect the economic potential of such youth as they grow into adulthood. R3 recognizes youth employment as a strong need. If we employ youth in East St. Louis now, they will have better economic outcomes in the first few years after graduating high school. A Pew Charitable Trusts report supports this claim in writing, “for every year people work in their teens, their income rises 14 to 16 percent in their 20s” (2009). Elizabeth Jacob also writes, “A growing academic literature on the “scarring” effects of launching a career without a job suggests that young people who endure early spells of unemployment are likely to have lower wages and greater odds of future unemployment than those who don’t” (Brookings Institution, 2014).