Are Gen Y-ers ready to contribute and create jobs? With the explosion of entrepreneurship education programs and the free-spirit of that generation, I lean towards yes. And there seems to be some evidence of that being true:
They’ve proven they have the gumption to start their own businesses. Now they say they’re ready to save the economy.
Generation Y entrepreneurs have a message for Congress and consumers: Invest your time and money in young startups and we’ll help get this lackluster economy going again.
“You have 77 million Gen Y-ers out there,” said 27-year-old Scott Gerber, the founder of The Young Entrepreneur Council. “The reality is if you don’t want a lost generation, you need to start thinking about the future.”
Friday’s employment report from the Labor Department showed that 13.9 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds were unemployed in July. That’s almost double the percentage of those over 30 who were unemployed.
Gerber and others like him think the traditional route to employment has failed their generation. “It’s a scary moment we’re in, but entrepreneurship can get us out,” he said.
