New Hampshire Millennials Frustrated by Lack of Jobs and Poor Economy

Generation Opportunity Engages Young Adults Across New Hampshire – Visits in Portsmouth, Durham, Merrimack, Nashua, Manchester, and Concord Areas Generation Opportunity's grassroots field team, which has been working aggressively across the nation, recently engaged in grassroots organizing across New Hampshire among young adults. The group's New Hampshire field efforts included the Portsmouth, Durham, Merrimack, Nashua, Manchester, and Concord areas. Generation Opportunity is one of the largest social media and grassroots organizations in the nation targeting young adults 18-29 and has more than 1.9 million fans on Facebook. The lack of jobs and unemployment, limited opportunity, the poor economy, and the implications for U.S. competitiveness were the chief concerns identified by young people the Generation Opportunity team met with and listened to. "Young adults in New Hampshire were very open in sharing their perspectives on how the lack of jobs and limited economic opportunity have negatively impacted their ability meet to their current needs and achieve their dreams and plans for the future," said Paul T. Conway, President of Generation Opportunity and a former Chief of Staff of the United States Department of Labor. "They are simply fed up with what they see as disconnected leadership in Washington – elected leaders who claim they know how to create jobs, but who have no practical understanding of what it feels like to go for months or years without satisfying work and opportunities that present promise for the future. In New Hampshire, young adults believe in the wisdom of individuals over the interference of government, and they definitely plan to make their voices heard." The Generation Opportunity field team met with young people at the University of New Hampshire, Thomas More College, Rivier College, Saint Anselm College, Manchester Community College, and the New Hampshire Technical Institute. In addition to recent organizing efforts among young adults in New Hampshire, Generation Opportunity also trained community college leaders from Franklin Piece University at the American Student Government Association (ASGA) Conference earlier this year. Young Americans ages 18-29 – including those in the Granite State – continue to face historic challenges as a result of a continually poor economy with unemployment among the top issues. The New York Times reported a youth unemployment rate of 18.1% in a recent story, noting that such a rate is a historic high in the post-WWII era. And the Associated Press is reporting that the near future shows no signs of relief. In a December story, the AP found that "two-thirds of chief executives of the largest US companies say they don't plan to increase hiring or will cut staff in the next six months" due to the lack of economic growth. Millennials Reject Washington Leadership and Failed Economic Policies: Generation Opportunity commissioned a poll with the polling company, inc./WomanTrend (April 16 – 22, 2011, +/- 4% margin of error) and a highlighted result for all young Americans ages 18-29 appears below:

• 69% say the current leadership in Washington fails to reflect the interests of the younger generation.
• Just 31% of 18 – 29 year-olds approve of President Obama's handling of youth unemployment.
• 54% believe America is on the wrong track, only 24% believe the U.S. is headed in the right direction.
• 59% of overall Millennials agree the economy grows best when individuals are allowed to create businesses without government interference.
• 69% prefer reducing federal spending over raising taxes on individuals in order to balance the federal budget.

Melvin Wylie