Obama paints rosy picture for the Millennial generation

President Obama pushed themes of Internet freedom, mass transit and immigration reform Thursday as he attempted to grab the attention of the Millennial generation.

Obama spoke at a co-working space for freelancers and tech start-ups in Santa Monica, Calif. where he said "entrepreneurship is in the DNA of this generation."

He said many Millennials -- generally defined as those born between 1980 and 2000 -- entered the job market during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. But he's bullish on their future prospects, because, he said, "we're coming out of this recession with the best-educated, the most diverse, the most digitally fluent generation of adults in American history."

The unemployment rate among the oldest Millennials -- those aged 25 to 34 -- was 6.2 percent in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics -- down 1.1 percentage points from the year before.

But many Millennials have delayed entering the workforce and are staying in school longer, trends that the White House argues "make economic sense."

"Focusing exclusively on school enables students to invest more time building skills that will be highly rewarded in the labor market later on," said a report Thursday from the president's Council of Economic Advisers.

Speaking into a hand-held microphone in a town hall-style meeting, Obama took questions from seven young inventors, entrepreneurs and professionals -- one of whom offered him a job. His answers:

• On the Internet: Obama said he was "unequivocally committed to net neutrality," which is the principle that internet service providers should treat all data equally. "I think it's what has unleashed the power of the Internet, and we don't want to lose that or clog up the pipes." Obama said Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler -- who he appointed -- "knows my position" but "I can't just call him up and tell him exactly what to do."

• On immigration reform: Obama said it's "anybody's guess" what congressional Republicans will do. "If they were thinking long term politically, it is suicide for them not to do this," he said. "Because the demographics of the country are such where you are going to lose an entire generation of immigrants who are looking around and saying, you know what, that party does not seem to care much about me and my life. And I think the smarter Republicans understand this."

• On mass transit: Acknowledging that America is a "car nation," Obama said transportation policy has to include an "all-of-the-above strategy that can take advantage of different preferences that this next generation may have in terms of how to move."

"You are starting to see different patterns with Millennials, though, partly because they're more urbanized," Obama told Jeffrey Chernick, CEO of the ride-sharing platform RideAmigos. Younger workers have the notion of "I just want to get to where I want to go and I don't feel like I have to have my own car to do it," he said.

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