Job Corps funding cuts hit California: LA, Long Beach, San Diego and the Inland Empire affected

The Trump administration's decision to cut funding for the Job Corps program this month will take effect across the country. The U.S. Department of Labor operates the youth-centered program, which is one of the nation’s largest and longest-running federal workforce development initiatives for disadvantaged young people. 

The cuts are already impacting California cities, including Sacramento, San Jose, Los Angeles, Long Beach, the Inland Empire and San Diego. The nationwide closure of Job Corps centers, which provide vocational training and education, has left thousands of young Californians without critical support.

According to their site, Job Corps has been running for over 50 years and is the largest nationwide residential career training program in the country. The program supports individuals ages 16 to 24, many of whom face significant barriers to employment, such as homelessness, foster care involvement or lack of a high school diploma. 

The program was unique in that not only did it offer opportunities such as GED preparation or high school completion, but it also provided youth with housing. Participants would often qualify to receive meals, housing and a modest stipend. 

Job Corps was designed to serve those who may not thrive in traditional school environments,  and it helped young adults transition into employment, apprenticeships or higher education, offering a structured path toward long-term stability. Some of the most popular career training have been in fields like construction, health care, information technology, and culinary arts. 

According to a transparency report released in April by the department’s Employment and Training Administration, there have been numerous fiscal and safety concerns. The report, which is presented as an Excel spreadsheet, stated that there were significant behavioral and safety issues, with nearly 15,000 serious incident reports, including 372 cases of sexual misconduct, 1,764 violent acts and over 2,700 instances of reported drug use.

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said the program no longer achieved “the intended outcomes that students deserve,” citing what she described as “a startling number of serious incident reports and our in-depth fiscal analysis.”

Others, however, believe that the Job Corps program has provided substantial benefits to underserved youth. Congressman Robert Garcia (CA-42) recently fired back in a statement, saying, “As mayor of Long Beach for eight years and now as a member of Congress, I’ve seen firsthand how Job Corps has helped young people across our community and country.” 

Garcia noted that although the program may require improvements, it has served as a lifeline for many. “[Job Corps] offers training, support and opportunity to help folks build a future. We should be expanding this program, not dismantling it, which is why we’re going to fight back against this decision and make it clear to the Trump administration that this action is illegal and unethical,” he said in a press release. 

Already, the ripple effects of the closures are taking place. A trade group representing contractors that operate Job Corps centers, along with several of its members, has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan, alleging that the U.S. Department of Labor is violating federal law and its own regulations by abruptly shutting down the program. 

Los Angeles County already grapples with high youth unemployment.Young people are facing significantly higher unemployment rates than the general population, according to data from a 2021 study. While the countywide unemployment rate stood at 5.1 percent in April 2025, certain neighborhoods are seeing nearly double that figure among residents ages 16 to 24.

The figures underscore a persistent challenge that programs like Job Corps sought to address. In the meantime, California cities are left to contend with the immediate consequences of the federal cuts. Local governments and community organizations are working tirelessly to fill the gaps left by the closure of Job Corps centers, but the road ahead remains unclear.