Opportunities remain scarce for young people after years of debt-fueled government spending

Washington, DC

Generation Opportunity, a national, non-partisan organization advocating for Millennials ages 18-29, is announcing its Millennial Jobs Report for March 2013.

The data is non-seasonally adjusted (NSA) and is specific to 18-29 year olds:

• The youth unemployment rate for 18-29 year olds specifically for March 2013 is 11.7 percent (NSA). • The youth unemployment rate for 18-29 year old African-Americans for March 2013 is 20.1 percent (NSA); the youth unemployment rate for 18-29 year old Hispanics for March 2013 is 12.6 percent (NSA); and the youth unemployment rate for 18–29 year old women for March 2013 is 10 percent (NSA).

• The declining labor force 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 16.2 percent (NSA).

Evan Feinberg, President of Generation Opportunity and one of the first Millennials to run for Congress, issued the following statement: “March was another lost month for my generation. Young people are finding fewer opportunities and are being saddled with the costs of our country's unsustainable deficits. “Some people will try to blame the laughably small cuts to government spending known as the sequester – but aside from the Post Office, government actually added 9,000 jobs last month. "After years of deficit spending and government meddling in the economy, 1 in 6 of us don’t have a job. Half of us are doing no better than a part-time job. All the while, we are all stuck with a bill that keeps getting bigger. It’s like we’re the last one to leave the bar and everybody else ran out without paying their tab.”

HOUSTON

Any molecular genetics textbook will tell you that DNA methylation (the addition of a methyl group or molecule) is an epigenetic switch that turns off genes. Studies by researchers at the USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center (http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/) at Baylor College of Medicine (www.bcm.edu) and Texas Children’s Hospital (www.texaschildrens.org) show, however, that after human embryonic stem cells start to differentiate into different cell types and tissues, certain genome regions called CpG islands become methylated, turning on important genes involved in development. The methylation does not occur at the promoter region (the beginning of the gene), but at the other end called the 3’ (3 prime) region,” said Dr. Lanlan Shen (http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/faculty/index.cfm?pmid=19345) , associate professor of pediatrics – nutrition at BCM and corresponding author of the report in the journal Molecular and Cellular Biology. http://mcb.asm.org/content/early/2013/02/26/MCB.01124-12.abstract “This study is the first to document a specific mechanism for how DNA methylation at 3’ CpG islands activates expression of associated genes,” said Shen. Not only that, but using a com- puter algorithm to analyze large sets of DNA methylation data, she and her colleagues showed that as stem cells differentiate and become more specialized tissues and cells, these 3’ CpG islands become more and more methylated. This methylation regulates the activation of gene transcription (the first step in translating DNA into a blueprint that eventually becomes a protein) via a mechanism that depends on the blocking of a gene enhancer by a protein called CTCF. “The bottom line of the report is that CTCF-mediated enhancer blocking activi- ty appears to be used by our cells as a general mechanism for regulation of gene expression during differentiation,” said Dr. Robert Waterland (http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/faculty/index.cfm?pmid=9575), associate professor of pediatrics – nutrition at BCM and a member of the faculty of the Children’s Nutrition Research Center, as is Shen. The finding is particularly important for shedding light on the complex roles of DNA methylation during mammalian development, and should lead to refinement of the ‘textbook’ view of this epigenetic modification.

HOUSTON

Dyeing the hair seems to come naturally to many people as they age, but it could be the cause of an allergic reaction, no matter how long you’ve been using the same product, according to a dermatologist at Baylor College of Medicine. “You can develop an allergy to a product at any point in time – it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been using the product,” said Dr. Rajani Katta, professor of dermatology at BCM. “One allergic reaction we’re seeing commonly is to hair dyes.” The symptoms of hair dye allergies aren’t necessarily immediate, she said. They can occur two, three or even up to seven days after exposure to the product. Symptoms include redness of skin and itching on the hairline, face, eyelids, ears, neck and even back. The main culprit of this reaction is a chemical called p-phenylenediamine, also known as PPDA. This is the best chemical to cover the greys, so it’s found commonly in hair dyes. Katta suggests that rather than checking for products that are “ammonia free” or “all-natural,” look to see if the dye has PPDA – it’s usually found midway in the list of ingredients. “It may start as a mild reaction, but it can get worse over time and spread to other parts of the body,” said Katta. For a mild reaction, she suggests applying over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream to the affected areas. If the hydrocortisone is not helping after one week, see a dermatologist. If the dermatologist is unsure of the cause of the allergy, they may do patch testing, which is different than prick testing. Prick testing is done by allergists to check for reactions to pollen and other allergens that cause symptoms such as hay fever, sneezing and coughing. Patch testing is done by dermatologists and some allergists to check for skin rashes caused by various chemicals and products. For those who develop an allergy to PPDA, Katta suggests avoiding any product that has this chemical. While there are a few hair dyes that don’t contain PPDA, they can be difficult to find.

Katta suggests some other hair-dyeing solutions:

-Henna – a natural product that’s been used in India for hundreds of years and gives a reddish color to the hair. Be sure you are buying pure henna, and avoid a newer product called black henna, which may have added PPDA.

-Highlights – these are bleaching agents that don’t usually contain PPDA. -Temporary hair rinses. -Lead oxide dyes that darken gray hair – check the ingredients carefully as the same brand name can also sell products with PPDA.

-Find a salon that is familiar with hair dye allergies – there are some salon products available that don’t contain PPDA.

There are other ingredients related to PPDA that may also cause a similar reaction, so Katta suggests that if you’re allergic to PPDA, get tested by a dermatologist to see if you’re also allergic to similar ingredients.