National Youth Administration

The National Youth Administration (NYA) was a New Deal agency in the United States that focused on providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 25. It operated from June 26, 1935 to 1939 as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Following the passage of the Reorganization Act of 1939, the NYA was transferred from the WPA to the Federal Security Agency. In 1942, the NYA was transferred to the War Manpower Commission (WMC). The NYA was dissolved in 1943.

By 1938, college youth were paid from $6 to $40 a month for "work study" projects at their schools. Another 155,000 boys and girls from relief families were paid $10 to $25 a month for part-time work that included job training. Unlike the Civilian Conservation Corps, it included young women. The youth normally lived at home, and worked on construction or repair projects. Its annual budget was approximately $58,000,000.

The NYA was headed by Aubrey Willis Williams, a prominent liberal from Alabama who was close to Harry Hopkins and Eleanor Roosevelt. The head of the Texas division at one point was Lyndon B. Johnson, who was later to become president of the United States.

The NYA operated several programs for out of school youth.

As the Great Depression continued to grip the American economy and inhibit the harnessing of American potential, unemployment and poverty spiraled to record lows. These debilitating years saw youth unemployment dip to 30% and the younger cohorts of the United States increasingly faced the devastation of not being able to afford education (Woolner). Serving as the main catalyst for change and accelerator for government intervention, Eleanor Roosevelt recognized the need for government involvement. In 1934 she notably declared that she frequently experienced "moments of real terror when [she thought] we might be losing this generation."

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