The opportunities for employment available to young people within Merced are very limited, said Michelle Xiong, youth coordinator with Building Health Communities Merced. Besides working in the fast food industry, very few jobs are marketed to teens and young adults.
The issue is particularly troubling in Merced, which ranks third the state in the number of disconnected youth, or people ages 16-19 who are neither in school or employed. Nearly 12 percent of young people here fit into that category, at exactly the age when young people are desperate for a job or educational path forward.
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