The 10 Worst Cities For Young Job Seekers

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D. Sharon Pruitt / Flickr

Job prospects for young adults are grim across the U.S., but in some cities they're significantly worse.

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Two areas stand out as particularly bad: California and Florida. In a list compiled by the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) as part of a recent study, six of the 10 cities with the worst employment rates for 20-somethings are in either California or Florida.

Using 2010 data from the U.S. Census and American Community Survey, CEW researchers compiled a list of the 10 cities with the lowest employment rates for 21- to 30-year-olds. The analysis was limited to cities with youth populations of at least 200,000. It found that in the cities with the worst 20-something job prospects, youth employment rates ranged from 63% to 69%, below the national average of 70%.

While 20-somethings make up 23% of the labor force, they represent a striking 36% of the unemployed. By contrast, older adults only constitute 16% of the unemployed.

Don't want to be part of those sad unemployment statistics? Start by steering your job hunt away from these 10 places.

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10. Orlando, Fla.

orlando2
Greg Morgan / Flickr

Young adult employment rate: 69.3%

General employment rate: 65.7%

Young adult population: 331,607

General population: 1,453,217

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9. Philadelphia, Pa.

philadelphia2
R'lyeh Imaging / Flickr

Young adult employment rate: 68.9%

General employment rate: 66.0%

Young adult population: 719,100

General population: 3,523,218

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8. Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Fla.

Tampa
Robert Neff / Flickr

Young adult employment rate: 68.9%

General employment rate: 60.8%

Young adult population: 353,359

General population: 1,893,180

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7. Atlanta, Ga.

atlanta2
Matthew Paulson / Flickr

Young adult employment rate: 68.2%

General employment rate: 67.1%

Young adult population: 692,869

General population: 3,301,054

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6. Los Angeles/Long Beach, Calif.

los angeles 2
jondoeforty1 / Flickr

Young adult employment rate: 67.5%

General employment rate: 65.4%

Young adult population: 1,981,147

General population: 8,561,698

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5. New York, N.Y./Northeastern New Jersey

new york 2
Nicolas Vollmer / Flickr

Young adult employment rate: 67.4%

General employment rate: 66.6%

Young adult population: 2,587,650

General population: 12,037,168

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4. Sacramento, Calif.

sacramento 2
Grey Wolf1 / Flickr

Young adult employment rate: 65.8%

General employment rate: 60.8%

Young adult population: 270,525

General population: 1,292,375

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3. Detroit, Mich.

Detroit
Andrew Jameson / Wikimedia Commons

Young adult employment rate: 64.8%

General employment rate: 60.0%

Young adult population: 515,528

General population: 2,803,110

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2. Miami/Hialeah, Fla.

Miami
Marc Averette / Wikimedia Commons

Young adult employment rate: 62.7%

General employment rate: 63.2%

Young adult population: 349,975

General population: 1,696,321

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1. Riverside/San Bernardino, Calif.

Riverside
vlasta2 / Wikimedia Commons

Young adult employment rate: 62.5%

General employment rate: 59.5%

Young adult population: 623,061

General population: 2,678,854

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