Solis discusses lack of summer jobs for teens

The Obama administration's economic stimulus program to find jobs for thousands of teenagers this summer couldn't overcome one of the bleakest job markets in more than 60 years,  that had including desperate adults competing for the same kind of work.

Almost one-quarter of the 297,169 young people in the $1.2 billion jobs program didn't get jobs, as more adults flooded the labor market seeking similar low-wage positions at hamburger stands and community pools, according to an Associated Press review of government data and reports from states.

Congressional auditors warned Wednesday that the government's plans to measure the success of the program are so haphazard that they "may reveal little about what the program achieved."

The report from the Government Accountability Office also said many government officials, employers and participants believe the program was successful.

"After a decade without a dedicated federal summer jobs program, the effort created opportunities for young people that would have not existed otherwise," Cal Poly Pomona graduate and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said. "We have succeeded in our efforts to increase job skills and career readiness for our nation's youth through this targeted program."