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@pelhamprog and I put out a new report on what the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program means for working students and grads. 1/ https://tcf.org/content/commentary/unemployment-insurance-young-people-wake-covid-19/
About 11 million college students work & about 75% of those students work 20 hours or more per week. In general, students who lost their jobs directly due to COVID-19 *should* qualify, even if they don't qualify for traditional UI. States just need to implement appropriately. 2/
So many of today's students work their way through school while supporting themselves and their families. This could be a critical lifeline. 3/
DOL still needs to clarify what happens for students whose jobs are still there, but were forced to move off campus and can no longer reasonably get to their job. 4/
Some working high school students should also qualify, though there are far more limitations. 5/
However, Congress needs to act to expand the benefit for job entrants newly seeking work - think about the millions of high school and college grads entering the workforce next month facing today's economic conditions. 6/
The Great Recession was financially devastating for young people, who faced an unemployment rate about 74% higher than the population as a whole. It was even more devastating for young people of color. 7/
Some project we had an actual March 2020 unemployment rate of upwards of 17 percent; if we're seeing a similar ratio as the GR, it would mean a March unemployment rate of 30 percent for 18 to 24 year olds. 8/
@IndivarD @mboteach @NelpNews @rwest817 @kaligrant and others have been calling for a jobseekers allowance since 2016. Lots to do to provide relief to and then rebuild for today's workers and future workers, and this should be a part of it. end/ https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/poverty/reports/2016/06/16/138492/strengthening-unemployment-protections-in-america/
