Difficult Job Market for the Young

Discussion in 'Economics & Trade' started by kazenatsu, May 17, 2017.

  1. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Disclaimer: the statistics in this post are a little outdated, about 2 years old, and the job outlook in the economy has improved a bit since then, but I still believe this is an important topic to talk about.


    The national unemployment rate has dropped to 5%, the lowest it has been since 2008, but this low percentage means nothing for the Millennial generation (born between 1980-2000).

    The data is actually pretty scary: 44% of college grads in their 20s are stuck in low-wage, dead-end jobs, the highest rate in decades, and the number of young people making less than $25,000 has also spiked to the highest level since the 1990s.

    The main factor behind the absence of good jobs for Millennials seems to be that employers are preferring to fill jobs with older adult workers, who often times have more job experience and are seen as harder working or more dependable. Even many jobs that were formerly considered entry level, such as store clerks and valet drivers, have become filled up by more mature workers.

    "I have often said that in order to understand how bad our economy truly is, you have to have children at an age where they and their friends are getting out of school and looking for jobs. After five years of ostensible recovery, the job situation is brutal for young people."

    http://www.powerlineblog.com/archive...y-this-bad.php

    Young adults cannot afford houses:

    http://www.doctorhousingbubble.com/b...afford-a-home/


    We have a dramatically high number of adults living at home seemingly during an economic recovery. Remember the recession has been officially over for nearly half a decade. Why do we continue to see a massive number of young adults living at home?
    What is interesting is that this trend for the young is not new. It actually has been on-going for many years:

    [​IMG]

    Builders realize that the nation is becoming one where more people will be renters out of economic necessity so multi-unit housing starts (i.e., apartments) are now going back up.

    After all, if you were a builder what motivation would you have to try to capture the attention of an audience with a median net worth of close to zero dollars. Older Americans, many who already own, are not in the market for new homes.

    The percent of Americans age 25-34 still living with their parents has climbed from 7.5% in 1970, to 12.5% in 2010.

    [​IMG]

    Between the ages of 18-34, it has climbed from 27.5% in 1995, to 31% in 2014

    [​IMG]

    The average young adult today is less independent than they were a generation ago. Much of this has to do with housing affordability issues, but the availability of jobs and low earnings also play a role.

    Looks like the lack of opportunity is already beginning to lead to some social problems:
    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/17/sc...ng-whites.html

    The number of deaths from drug overdoses in America have now surpassed the number of deaths from car accidents.
    http://5newsonline.com/2016/09/24/dr...cars-and-guns/

    Presumably I don't have to explain the link between drug use and economic circumstances.

    U.S. Suicide Rate Surges to a 30-Year High

    The increases were so widespread that they lifted the nation’s suicide rate to 13 per 100,000 people, the highest since 1986. The rate rose by 2 percent a year starting in 2006,

    Researchers also found an alarming increase among girls 10 to 14, whose suicide rate, while still very low, had tripled. The number of girls who killed themselves rose to 150 in 2014 from 50 in 1999.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/22/he...year-high.html

    http://www.newsmax.com/McCaughey/hil.../27/id/725978/

    According to statistics compiled by the National Safety Council, the odds of an individual dying by suicide within their lifetime is 1 out of 95. That's slightly greater than 1% !

    http://www.nsc.org/learn/safety-knowledge/Pages/injury-facts-chart.aspx

    The Recession certainly took a toll on the American population.
     
  2. jmblt2000

    jmblt2000 Well-Known Member

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    I currently work for a defense contractor as a tool and die maker/prototype engineer. Last year they had me chaperone 2 engineering students as interns. One young man, one young lady...both had trouble showing up for work on time, listening to someone that did not have a college degree, and generally thought they didn't need to learn how to do practical engineering instead of CAD...Neither one lasted a month, they sucked at math because I would not let them use their phones or a calculator. Visualizing a part from paper to real product, and common sense problems with fit and finish as well as being ignorant of different types of symbols such as welding...These were both straight A students at the University of Texas School of Engineering...If this is what a top 50 Engineering school is turning out, no wonder we are having to import skilled workers from other countries.
     
  3. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I've read these type of comments many times before, so there must be some truth to them.

    Perhaps the problem is that it takes a different kind of skill set to succeed in academics versus succeeding in a real hands on apprenticeship. We take people and put them through 4 years of school, all that intense studying while their minds are molded and accustomed to a certain way of doing things. Then all of a sudden we expect them to develop a different skill set and way of doing things, substantially different. They spent all those years working hard in school and now they have grown a bit tired out. There is some entitlement attitude because they have spent all this effort, time, money, striving for a goal. The problem is that in this day and age employers are expecting all their entry level applicants to already have a college degree, often an advanced degree, even though what they learned while getting that degree means very little in actuality to the job at hand.

    But with so many people going to college now, rational employers have little other choice than to use a college degree as a screening device, since if an individual didn't get a college degree there's a very high likelihood something is wrong with them. But as I mentioned before, going through the arduous track of a long degree turns an individual who would have been a good willing worker ready to work, and turns them into a somewhat burnt out entitled person who has trouble adapting to a different way of doing things. I believe all those classes and studying really take a toll over time, and the applicant is not as "fresh". If you took the average high school student (the ones who were headed on a course to college), they would be excited about a new opportunity and learning how to do things. I hope you understand what I mean. In a lot of ways all this college education is a tremendous drain on society, and I don't know what's going to happen with the younger generation.
     
  4. jmblt2000

    jmblt2000 Well-Known Member

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    That may be part of it...I think it's more likely that college and high school don't teach proper work ethics. And it might even go further back than high school...life does not give out participation trophies, it's competitive, and if you can't compete, you get left behind.
    Also, there are many employers who hire veterans before college grads...they have discipline and a strong work ethic as well as good hands on training.
     

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