The Young and The Jobless: Unemployment Woes Continue Among Youths

[bobbyw24]

With the new year upon us, a fresh batch of college students who have just finished their studies will enter the work force. They arrive at a time when they have significantly lower chances of finding employment than their older counterparts had, and when the outlook for the coming months is extremely bleak.

In November (the most recent data available from the Labor Department), the total unemployment rate for all 20- to 24-year-olds rose to 16 percent, almost double that of everyone older than them. The jobless rate for those 25 and up inched up to 8.5 percent. The national unemployment rate was last measured at 10 percent.

For young people without a college degree, the prospects are especially grim. The November unemployment rate for 20- to 24-year-old high school graduates (without any college schoolwork) was 23.3 percent, and 33.5 percent for those without a high school diploma.

The numbers convey a dire situation, but you don't have to share the data with recent graduates and other young people -- they know all too well what the job market looks like, and that odds aren't looking up anytime soon.




http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/01/04/the-young-and-the-jobless-unemployment-woes-continue-among-yout/

 

[kathy88]

I am scared for my children. They will be saddled with this debt and no prospects of gainful employment.

 

[bobbyw24]

I am scared for my children. They will be saddled with this debt and no prospects of gainful employment.

I know-makes me wonder why so many people like the ideas of importing cheap labor and outsourcing jobs to India

 

[armstrong]

yea my kids, and yours how about a long career at waliworld or micky Ds so sad and scary

 

[BuddyRey]

There seems to be, not only an epidemic of youth unemployment, but also one of middle-age and senior unemployment at the moment.

This is probably the first time in many decades that a 40, 50, or 60-something adult is just as likely to be out of a job as his or her 20 or 30-something kids!

 

[LDA]

I graduated from college last May. I have a job, but there's guarantee that I'll keep this one. Honestly, if I had a kid at this point, I'd be trying to teach them how to do something or make something. A four year degree in something useless isn't going to cut it in the next few years. You have to gain some valuable skills to make it.

 

[MelissaWV]

I graduated from college last May. I have a job, but there's guarantee that I'll keep this one. Honestly, if I had a kid at this point, I'd be trying to teach them how to do something or make something. A four year degree in something useless isn't going to cut it in the next few years. You have to gain some valuable skills to make it.

Smartest thing I've read in awhile. Parents are part of the current culture of encouraging kids to get a degree in "something... anything," instead of pointing out that they need to be able to do something. That something MAY require a degree. It may not. It might require independent study and certification. It might require a basic knowledge and intuition that your child has.

Parents should encourage, early on, an interest in careers. There are a LOT of interesting things to do out there, which a child should grow up being aware of. When "career day" comes around, they almost never talk about proofreading, but that is something I was always good at. People might talk about graphic design, but computer-generated labeling content might have slipped their mind. I wrote obituaries for awhile, and that was a really awesome job. Finding a niche, and knowing it's what you're best at, is golden.

 

[MrNick]

I am scared for my children. They will be saddled with this debt and no prospects of gainful employment.

We'll be ok. We'll take out a large loan each year in place of a salary from a career.