PARIS, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Paris-based Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said on Monday the United States should raise significantly funding to fight against youth unemployment to gain long-term development.

    The organization made its appeal based on a new report about U.S. youth employment. The report said in the year to November 2009,the number of jobless school leavers in the United States struck a rate of 19 percent, up by 8 percentage points on annual basis, to over 1.6 million.

    Although overall labor market suffered from the economic crisis, teenagers have been hit especially hard, OECD said, pointing out that over one in four aged 16-19 Americans were unemployed in November, while for all workers nationwide, the rate is one in 10.

    "The short-term priority must be to help the young people most at risk to avoid the long-term scarring of a generation of young Americans," the OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria said.

    Besides efforts from business, "the government has to act quickly to extend financial support to more young people and increase funding for re-employment programs," Gurria said, adding the importance of teaching practical skill in schools.

    The organization advised the U.S. government to financially support unemployed youths and at-risk young people, and to arm young people with necessary skills before they enter labor market.

    OECD launched a review on Jobs for Youth in 2006 among 16 countries, and the United States is the 14th and the latest in the series of reports.

Special Report:  Global Financial Crisis