Boston Council Hears Push to Expand Youth Summer Jobs Beyond 4,500 Placements

BOSTON -- March 27, 2023, Boston City Council hears push to expand youth summer jobs program past 4,500 placements. The council's Committee on Health, chaired by Councillor Liz Breadon and called by Councillor Erin J. Murphy, heard testimony Monday from Rashad Cope, deputy chief of the Worker Empowerment Cabinet, who reported that 4,547 young people were placed in summer 2022 jobs out of a goal of 6,000, leaving roughly 1,500 slots unfilled, and that the city distributed $3.1 million in grants to 40 nonprofits. The program pays 14-to-18-year-olds $15 an hour, a rate Councillor Ruthzee Louijeune flagged as $2 to $3 below what Target and Amazon pay the same age group. Officials identified East Boston and Allston-Brighton as underserved, each with only about two employer partners, and announced a Youth Jobs and Resource Fair on April 22 at the Reggie Lewis Center, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., where employers have been asked to make on-the-spot offers.