Generation Opportunity, the largest non-profit, non-partisan organization in the United States engaging and mobilizing young Americans on the important economic issues facing the nation, announced non-seasonally adjusted (NSA) 18-29 unemployment rate data for August 2012:

• The youth unemployment rate for 18-29 year olds specifically for August 2012 is 12.7 percent (NSA).
• The youth unemployment rate for 18-29 year old African-Americans for August 2012 is 22.4 percent (NSA); the youth unemployment rate for 18-29 year old Hispanics for August 2012 is 13.7 percent (NSA); and the youth unemployment rate for 18–29 year old women for August 2012 is 12.6 percent (NSA).
• The declining labor participation rate has created an additional 1.7 million young adults that are not counted as "unemployed" by the U.S. Department of Labor because they are not in the labor force, meaning that those young people have given up looking for work due to the lack of jobs.
• If the labor force participation rate were factored into the 18-29 youth unemployment calculation, the actual 18-29-unemployment rate would rise to 16.7 percent (NSA).

Generation Opportunity President Paul T. Conway, former Chief of Staff of the United States Department of Labor and former Chief of Staff of the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM), issued the following statement in response to the August 2012 jobs numbers:

"This week, we heard a lot of claims about the impact the policies of this President and his administration have had on the lives of the American people, but nothing speaks louder than the number of Americans unable to find job opportunities, particularly young Americans. The monthly unemployment numbers are a solemn reminder of the millions of Americans facing each day with a growing sense of desperation and lost hope, through no fault of their own. While Washington is not short on rhetoric, it is short on results.

"Young Americans are left holding the bag, feeling the sharp impact of this President's failed policies in both their daily lives and the loss of their ability to plan for the future. There is a subtle message coming out of the White House that the lack of economic opportunity is due to a lack of training, education, or initiative on the part of Americans, but we know that is not true.

"Young Americans stand ready and willing to serve. They are uniquely qualified to lead this nation and, indeed, the world in this century. However, the stubborn economic policies of this administration offer nothing but empty promises, lost hope, and ongoing high unemployment. There is nothing fair about denying opportunities to an entire generation of Americans, and young Americans are determined to make their voices heard in November to demand real change and expanded opportunities."

Womens Job Gains Continue Closing on Men's:

According to analysis by the Institute for Women's Policy Research of the August employment report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), private sector job growth continued in August with 103,000 jobs added to nonfarm payrolls. However, BLS reported that there were 7,000 fewer jobs in government resulting in a net total of 96,000 jobs added to nonfarm payrolls in August. Of these, women gained 43,000 jobs, or 45 percent of the total, and men gained 53,000 jobs.

Women's employment growth was aided by strong growth in education and health services (22,000 jobs added for women), leisure and hospitality (14,000 jobs added for women), professional and business services (13,000 jobs added for women) and trade, transportation, and utilities (10,000 jobs added for women). Women lost 16,000 jobs in government in August.

IWPR analysis of the BLS payroll data shows that women have regained 41 percent (1.1 million) of the total jobs they lost in the recession from December 2007 to the trough for women's employment in September 2010(2.7 million). The picture looks somewhat better for men: men have regained 49 percent (2.95 million) of the jobs they lost between December 2007 and the trough for men's employment in February 2010 (6.1 million). In the last year, from August 2011 to August 2012, of the 1.8 million jobs added to payrolls, 669,000 or 37 percent were filled by women, and 1,139,000 or 63 percent were filled by men. The gap between women's and men's employment is 1.9 million jobs in August.

According to the household survey data reported by the BLS, the unemployment rate for women  aged 16 and older declined from July to August (to 7.8 percent from 8.1 percent). The unemployment rate for men aged 16 and older declined slightly (to 8.3 percent from 8.4 percent). As of August, 12.5 million workers remain unemployed.