Little orphan Annie and her friends have a rough life in the orphanage. But kids only a little older—teenagers—also face a hard-knock life when they try to enter the working world. The youth unemployment rate is:
25.7 percent
This number is down from its October 2009 historical high of 26.4 percent, but it is still well above average. And it means that more than one out of every four young people who want a job can't find one. Many of them are entering the work force without earning a high school diploma, making finding a job (any job, no matter how low the wages) even harder.