Youth Construct

Our Mission

Significant disparities in graduation rates exist in New York City when viewed through the lens of race and ethnicity. While 82 percent of white students graduated in four years, only 64 percent of Hispanic students and 65.4 percent of black students did so in 2015.[1]

Young workers (ages 16–24) historically have higher unemployment and underemployment rates compared with their peers ages 25 and older—and these rates have spiked even higher during the pandemic, and workers of color experienced even higher unemployment. At the height of the coronavirus recession, in spring 2020, nearly 30% of young Black workers (ages 16-24) were unemployed.[2]