Erie County PA Earn and Learn program links youth to local job market
Erie County Executive Brenton Davis describes the Earn and Learn youth workforce development program at a news conference on May 14, 2024.
Need to make some cash or gain work experience this summer? Ohio might just be the premier spot to land a job for young people.
A new ranking by WalletHub names three Ohio cities among the top 100 best places for summer jobs.
The finance company collected data from182 cities — the 150 most populous U.S. cities and at least two of the most populated cities in each state — under two main categories: “Youth Job Market” and “Social Environment & Affordability.”
Among the metrics looked at for the study were the availability of summer jobs and internships, the unemployment rate of people aged 16 to 24, access to public transportation and rental price as share of median income.
All metrics collected for each city were averaged in an overall score out of 100, with 100 representing the best conditions for those seeking summer work.
Cincinnati, Cleveland and Akron all ranked among the top 100 cities to snag a summer job. Here’s exactly where Ohio’s major cities fell in the ranking and what they scored:
The study placed the Queen City’s job market at No. 52 of the cities reviewed, but its social environment and affordability rank (No. 17) was one of the best in the country.
Cleveland’s job market rating (No. 58) was slightly better than its final standing, while its social environment and affordability rank (No. 78) was slight worse.
Akron’s final rank in the WalletHub study was representative of its standing for both the youth job market (No. 75) and social environment and affordability (No. 79).
Ohio’s other large lake-side city rated in the middle of the pack for social environment and affordability (No. 80) but finished just outside the top 100 for its youth job market (No. 106).
Like the other Buckeye State cities on the list, Ohio’s capital city ranked well for affordability (No. 70). Its lagging job market for young people (No. 122) pushed it down the overall rankings.
The WalletHub study found Columbia, Maryland (with a score of 63.12), Scottsdale, Arizona (60.90) and Rapid City, South Dakota (57.62) as having the three best summer job markets for young people.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Memphis, Tennessee, and Laredo, Texas, fell at the bottom of the 182 cities in the ranking, each with a score around 30.
