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Teens Worldwide Rank Unemployment as No. 1 Threat
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Nearly a third (30%) of teen responses to the first Junior Achievement Worldwide poll on global business indicates that "unemployment" is the No. 1 threat to their nations' economies. "Poverty" (18%) was seen as the second largest economic threat, followed by "political instability" (12%). "Lack of education" and "terrorism" tied for the next most popular answer (11% each) among participating students (who selected the top two economic threats).Teens in the United States named terrorism as the No. 1 threat to this nation's economy. American teens differed from their international peers in other ways, too. While 43% of teens worldwide believe they will "some day do more business with people in other countries," only 25% of teens in the United States said the same. Results of the JA poll show that teens overwhelmingly believe English is the most important language for success in the global economy (88%). In the United States, only 73% of participating students said "English," with another 17% listing "Spanish." When asked to name the two most important ingredients for the success of their nation's economy, "investment to create jobs" (21%) and a "properly trained work force" (18%) were the top two responses. Nearly 80% of participating students also said their nations' taxes were too high, with a notable exception in China, where less than half (48%) said so. "While there are some clear differences among teens worldwide, the JA poll showed that students in different countries also face common economic challenges," said Jack Kosakowski, chief operating officer and executive vice president for JA Worldwide. "As business becomes more global in nature, we'll need a more educated workforce worldwide. With our partners in the business community and in schools, Junior Achievement programs can better prepare young people for the real world. The time to act is now." The poll results are being issued as Junior Achievement Inc. and JA International merge, effective today, into a single organization named JA Worldwide. With 145 JA offices in the United States and nearly 100 JA offices overseas, the merger creates the world's largest nonprofit economics education organization. Originally operating under the auspices of Junior Achievement Inc., JA International became its own formal entity in 1994. "The original goal of the spin-off was to give JA International room to grow, while providing Junior Achievement Inc. the flexibility to focus its energies within the United States," said David S. Chernow, chief executive officer and president of the newly formed JA Worldwide. "With that goal met, both organizations are now at a point to truly promote free enterprise together, on a global scale." JA Worldwide headquarters will be based in Colorado Springs, with an additional office to support international operations in Atlanta. Locally, Junior Achievement of Mahoning Valley Inc. annually serves more than 8,000 K-12 grade students in Ashtabula, Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull Counties in Ohio.Visit Junior Achievement of Mahoning Valley Inc.: http://warren-youngstown.ja.org "