Employment for young American workers remains low

Discussion in 'Labor & Employment' started by kazenatsu, Jan 18, 2018.

  1. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

    Joined:
    May 15, 2017
    Messages:
    34,637
    Likes Received:
    11,205
    Trophy Points:
    113
    https://www.salon.com/2016/09/02/th...for-young-americans-remains-staggeringly-low/


    Missed in media coverage is a crisis that has been brewing in plain sight for decades, a growing cohort of disconnected teens and young adults who are neither in school nor working. By some estimates there is between 5.5 million to 6.7 million of these idle young souls whose inability to actualize will have profound lifelong implications for them and for the nation as a whole.

    As older teens age into young adults, with no job and no direction, that failure to launch means failure to individuate from their parents, delaying marriage or even their own household formation.

    Fraad thinks the emergence of this out of work-not in school young adult age cohort has prompted these young people to question the legitimacy of capitalism.

    [​IMG]The trend was first flagged by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as starting to manifest in the early 2000s and has only accelerated over time. With post Great Recession structural shifts, like the spike in returning senior citizens back into the workforce, the bar is even higher today for kids to get that first job. The longer they go without that first employment experience the more depressed their lifetime earnings.

    A BLS analysis noted that some of the summer youth employment drop off was the result of more kids opting for summer school or some other form of academic enrichment over working but also concluded that for kids looking for work jobs were harder to come by.

    “There is evidence as well that the types of jobs that teens would normally fill have become scarcer: not only is there increased competition for such jobs from other groups, but also, fewer summer jobs are funded through government programs,” wrote Teresa Morisi, a BLS economist in a 2010 white paper. “Finally, the decade has experienced two recessions, which no doubt have diminished employment opportunities for teens as well as other age groups.​
     
    Last edited: Jan 18, 2018
  2. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

    Joined:
    May 15, 2017
    Messages:
    34,637
    Likes Received:
    11,205
    Trophy Points:
    113
    The Unemployment Rate is Really Low. So Why Can't These Young People Find Jobs? (article from May 2017)

    http://reason.com/archives/2017/06/13/young-men-are-playing-video-ga

    ^ This is one of the most thoughtful and in touch with actual reality articles having to do with economics that I've read, I'd recommend reading
     
    Last edited: Jan 19, 2018
  3. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

    Joined:
    May 15, 2017
    Messages:
    34,637
    Likes Received:
    11,205
    Trophy Points:
    113
  4. Reiver

    Reiver Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2008
    Messages:
    39,883
    Likes Received:
    2,144
    Trophy Points:
    113
    "I can copy and paste stuff" is a little dull. Try and present an argument
     
  5. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

    Joined:
    May 15, 2017
    Messages:
    34,637
    Likes Received:
    11,205
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Teenagers have stopped getting summer jobs
    https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/06/disappearance-of-the-summer-job/529824/
     
    Last edited: Apr 2, 2018
  6. Reiver

    Reiver Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2008
    Messages:
    39,883
    Likes Received:
    2,144
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Still no argument...
     
  7. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

    Joined:
    May 15, 2017
    Messages:
    34,637
    Likes Received:
    11,205
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Could some young adults benefit from special programs to help them reach independence?
    https://news.uchicago.edu/article/2...glected-policies-and-programs-could-help-them

     
    Last edited: Apr 12, 2018
  8. perdidochas

    perdidochas Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2008
    Messages:
    27,293
    Likes Received:
    4,346
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    You do know that at this time the unemployment rate is "only 4.1 percent" at this time.

    The problem is that people who aren't in college, for the most part, are the people who don't work and really don't care. Some work, if forced, but if they can get away with living in their parents' basement, and play videogames all day, they will.

    My oldest son is both in college and working. He's never had a hard time finding a job. Why? He's a responsible hard worker with good manners.
     
    Last edited: Apr 13, 2018
  9. Reiver

    Reiver Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2008
    Messages:
    39,883
    Likes Received:
    2,144
    Trophy Points:
    113
    How's his wage? How does it compare to his productivity? How does it compare with real wages in pevious generations?
     
  10. tkolter

    tkolter Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2012
    Messages:
    7,134
    Likes Received:
    598
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Anything wrong with self-employment, I cleaned dog crap off lawns and was a Busker when that age with no one offering me work. If one can drive why not escort the elderly to shop for a fair fee and mileage or your fit with a van you can help people move etc. And your old enough anything wrong with seasonal farm labor?
     
  11. Reiver

    Reiver Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2008
    Messages:
    39,883
    Likes Received:
    2,144
    Trophy Points:
    113
    That you compare self-employment with crap and begging might be the problem?
     
  12. tkolter

    tkolter Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2012
    Messages:
    7,134
    Likes Received:
    598
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    BUSKING isn't begging it was a vocation going back thousands of years, there is a letter from Mr. Franklin during the Continental Congress that the streets had men and women dancing and playing instruments and other entertainments for coins as in BUSKERS. Cleopatra had street performers at her Court entertaining men of Rome. So stop referring to it as Begging. And it was honest work entertaining people it was better than being on welfare now it was a productive use of my time. As for cleaning yards its honest work to what is wrong with laboring for money. My point is you may need if young to work find ways to make money I noted with a car or truck or van you have options. And anything wrong with farm seasonal labor it pays decently enough and is better than sitting at home with mommy and daddy mooching. And there is always the armed forces and the reserves of all kinds, State defense forces if they have one and other options. If your fit in mind and body there is no reason someone can't work who isn't disabled if I could.

    I'm disabled and had multiple issues pride is something I had to forego if it means making honest money, I never got coddled my parents expected me to work, and when I was able to study Busking and perform in Europe they treated me as an ARTIST with the respect of an ARTIST and thought highly of my working when I was disabled and in pain walking around. I won competitions as well and trained other young Buskers and even joined a circus ,as alternative one, as a clown and puppeteer. I just got too sick to work and my hands got too disabled to work marionettes and play instruments so had to lose my last reliable skill set to earn money.

    Seriously Reiver you seem to look down on people who work for a living doing whatever they can get to survive as long as its legal since its all one can get.
     
  13. Reiver

    Reiver Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2008
    Messages:
    39,883
    Likes Received:
    2,144
    Trophy Points:
    113
    That folk are forced into begging certainly describes equity problems in the economy. That you focus on these aspects, rather than self employment where creativity is genuinely allowed to flourish, indicates that you need to set your demands for economic change higher.
     
  14. yabberefugee

    yabberefugee Well-Known Member Past Donor

    Joined:
    Feb 23, 2017
    Messages:
    20,620
    Likes Received:
    8,982
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    There are no summer jobs for kids because the National trend is this....kids are not supposed to work, they are just to have "fun". I remember doing yard work, farm work etc. while many of my friends played because their parents told them they should just have "fun". The othe reason is minimum wage has replaced low skilled entry level jobs with automation.
     
  15. Reiver

    Reiver Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2008
    Messages:
    39,883
    Likes Received:
    2,144
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Isn't this just fake nostalgia? I've employed numerous young'uns and I've noticed no change in work ethic.

    Present evidence in support, given minimum wage analysis generally fails to find any disemployment effect.
     
  16. tkolter

    tkolter Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2012
    Messages:
    7,134
    Likes Received:
    598
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Busking or Sidewalk Performing isn't begging its entertaining people for tips and in the EU I was earning a living wage and then some, when I was with the circus I was earning around 25,000 Euros a year getting a share of the profits and here I did the same work and made far less in the former I was an Artist and had respect and here I was a bum in many areas. So I don't care anymore to argue the point and when one is disabled with major issues Busking was the best work I could do considering. I made one mistake I should have staying IN the EU region, married a nice woman, had some children and made a living doing what I loved doing entertaining and seeing people respect me was something that made me feel special. But employers won't hire children when they can get adults, why hire Mary whose sixteen when you can get a mother of two who needs the job so won't bitch or walk out when she is treated like crap when she needs the job?
     
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2018
  17. Reiver

    Reiver Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2008
    Messages:
    39,883
    Likes Received:
    2,144
    Trophy Points:
    113
    You've missed the point, again. You haven't referred to the true creativity often enabled by self-employment; neither have you referred to the real deficiencies in neoliberal economies which hinder that creativity.
     
  18. 61falcon

    61falcon Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2018
    Messages:
    21,436
    Likes Received:
    12,227
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    The number of people in the workforce today is less than it was in 2000 by over one and a half million despite us having a much larger population today.The number who VOLUNTARILY remain outside the workforce is far higher today.Many of them can be found posting day and night in Forums and blogs.
     
  19. Reiver

    Reiver Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2008
    Messages:
    39,883
    Likes Received:
    2,144
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Its great that you're committeed to full employment!
     
  20. 61falcon

    61falcon Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2018
    Messages:
    21,436
    Likes Received:
    12,227
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    It's not just teenagers it's also millenials into their mid 30's who have very low workforce participation rates.
     
  21. Well Bonded

    Well Bonded Well-Known Member Past Donor

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2018
    Messages:
    9,049
    Likes Received:
    4,354
    Trophy Points:
    113
     
  22. Well Bonded

    Well Bonded Well-Known Member Past Donor

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2018
    Messages:
    9,049
    Likes Received:
    4,354
    Trophy Points:
    113
    A large part of the problem is many of them don't want to work.
     
  23. tkolter

    tkolter Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2012
    Messages:
    7,134
    Likes Received:
    598
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Okay real options for the system is simple see High School should be where students learn the skills employers want and need in workers with the competition and training costs its unreasonable to not do this when the education is largely free for the parents and the young people. Forget college prep many students who aren't going to consider college need skills and as wages are being driven up and with the competition its time to get real and have technical education secondary schools (I would have a third of classes in 'general subjects' and the rest indirectly related to or doing areas of work with skills training). Right now its all so focused on college prep its ridiculous. Even college tracked students should have to get some skill set before leaving high school.

    But I still think self-employment is an option is there something wrong with watching children, driving people around or other work including perhaps doing chores for elderly people a group who always needs people to shop for them or do yard work and will pay. Unless your disabled or something a fit person with a decent mind can find ways to earn money.
     

Share This Page