Junior Achievement
Adults aren’t the only people feeling pinched by the economic crisis. This poll by Junior Achievement found that teens are less interested in starting their own businesses than they were a year ago. The number of teens who said they wanted to be entrepreneurs dropped 7 percentage points in 2008, down to 60 percent, compared with 67 percent in 2007.
Surveyed youth also said they believed unemployment, a recession and the federal budget deficit pose the greatest threats to the U.S. economy. More than one-third of the youth said they were unsure how their financial futures will compare to that of their parents. The poll was taken online by 712 people ages 13 through 18 during February and March, in the early days of the housing slump and the tightening of credit by financial institutions. Free, 21 pages. (719) 540-8000, www.ja.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/polls/entrepreneurship_2008.pdf.
