Group: Lack of jobs threatens dreams

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- The lack of job growth, as evidenced by the August unemployment report, threatens the future of young Americans, Generation Opportunity said Friday.

The Department of Labor said no new jobs were added in August and the unemployment rate remained at 9.1 percent.

"Young Americans watched and waited patiently for elected leaders to finish their summer travel and vacations while their own dreams were put on hold by unemployment and under-employment," said Paul T. Conway, president of Generation Opportunity and a former chief of staff with the Labor Department.

On its Web site, Generation Opportunity describes itself as a non-profit, non-partisan organization "that seeks to both educate and organize young Americans on the challenges facing our nation." It said it seeks to engage Americans who find "themselves dissatisfied with the status quo and willing to create a better tomorrow."

When elected officials return to Washington, Conway said, they should have "a commitment to get government out of the way of those who actually know what it takes to create more jobs."

A Generation Opportunity-commission poll in April indicated only 31 percent of millennials -- people ages 18-29 -- said they were satisfied with President Obama's handling of youth unemployment.

Seventy-seven percent of millennials said they either have delayed or will delay a major life event because of economic considerations, the poll said. Twenty-seven percent said they have delayed paying on student loans or other debt.

If given the chance to set the country's priorities, 76 percent of survey participants said they would favor a decrease instead of an increase in federal spending from its current level.

Fifty-nine percent of millennials said they think the economy grows best when individuals are allowed to create businesses without government interference.