Kids 'Thrown Out Of The Labor Market In A Big Way,' Report Says (CHART)

According to a new report (.pdf) from Northeastern University's Center for Labor Market Studies says the teen job market has collapsed -- leading to a "true depression in the nation's teen labor market."

USA Today has more:

[Northeastern professor Andrew] Sum laid out the competition teens faced in the last decade for low-level jobs: Older workers (55-plus), young college graduates (25 and under), immigrants and, as the construction and manufacturing sectors weakened, blue-collar workers.

"Teen workers occupy the 'last hired, first fired' rung on the job ladder, and their employment is hit much harder during downturns than that of older workers," wrote Heidi Shierholz, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute, in a 2009 analysis. This has certainly been true this recession, when teens have been hurt more than any other age group.

One suggested solutions is a special, lower minimum wage for workers aged 16 to 19, although the federal government has not expressed significant interest in the idea. However, USA Today reports, a bill that allotting $1 billion for youth job growth was passed last month by the House, which would go to creating 350,000 positions.

What do you think? Are you, or teens you know, having trouble finding employment? Join the discussion below.