Policy-makers have implemented numerous programs to encourage labor market activity among youth -- including employment programs and the federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC). We study the effect of a youth employment program on earnings by examining randomized lotteries for slots in New York City's Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). Using IRS data on the universe of U.S. employment linked to SYEP administrative data on nearly three hundred thousand lottery participants from 2005 to 2008, we compare the earnings of individuals who randomly receive a slot in the program and thus receive a summer job funded by the city, to individuals who randomly do not.