Youth emplyoment in the US at an all-time low

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**Melissia**

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/09/employment-rate-young-adults_n_1264241.html

Are you young and looking for work? You're in good company.

Just 54 percent of Americans ages 18 to 24 currently have jobs, according to a study released Thursday by the Pew Research Center. That's the lowest employment rate for this age group since the government began keeping track in 1948. And it's a sharp drop from the 62 percent who had jobs in 2007 -- suggesting the recession is crippling career prospects for a broad swath of young people who were still in high school or college when the downturn began.

"They had the misfortune to be born at a time that would dump them into this labor market as young people," said Heidi Shierholz, a labor market economist at the Economic Policy Institute. "If we stay on the track that we're on, this cohort is not going to outpace their parents."

The Pew study arrives just days after the Labor Department's monthly jobs report, which showed the national unemployment rate trending down for a fifth straight month -- a change that many took as a sign that the economy is finally beginning to right itself. Yet joblessness is still high, and financial security remains out of reach for millions more people than just a few years ago.

Young adults were largely spared the collapse in wealth that many older Americans went through when the housing market imploded. Still, in some ways they have it the worst of any demographic. Besides the historically low employment rate for people in their late-teens and early-20s -- which is, incidentally, about 15 percentage points below the general employment rate for working-age adults, according to Pew -- the recession has eroded young workers' paychecks to a far greater degree than any other age group.

Among adults ages 18 to 34, more than a third say they have gone back to school in the face of a tough labor market, the Pew study notes. Nearly a quarter have taken an unpaid job or moved back in with parents. One in five have put off having a child or getting married due to economic concerns.

Still, the young people surveyed by Pew seem remarkably optimistic.

A full 88 percent say they're either making enough to suit their needs now, or expect to in the future. And 60 percent of people ages 18 to 34 say their children will have a better standard of living than them. That prediction is notably more confident than that of people ages 35 and older, of whom only 43 percent have a similarly hopeful view.

Young people are probably correct to say that their earning power will grow as they age, said Shierholz. But a wealth of research suggests that young people who enter the job market during a recession face years of wages that are lower than people who got there slightly sooner and had a chance to establish themselves. People who graduated and kicked off their job search in 2009 or 2010 are likely to experience pay 10 to 15 percent lower than their peers', for as much as a decade after leaving school.

If all of this seems like grim news for young people, they can at least take comfort knowing that older generations seem to recognize their struggles.

The Pew study found that among the general population, 41 percent of people think young adults have it tougher than anyone in the current job market, and a growing number of parents say they believe children should aim for economic independence by age 25, rather than a younger age.

Part of that cross-generational commiseration may come from the fact that huge segments of the national population are struggling financially right now. Shierholz told The Huffington Post that the obstacles faced by young job-seekers reflect the muted health of the overall economy.

"Things were not so great even before the recession hit," she said, citing the growth of the wage gap and the decline of labor unions -- trends that predate the current slump by several decades -- as factors keeping the lower and middle classes from achieving greater economic buoyancy. "If you want to move the dial on what's going on with young workers' unemployment, you need to help the labor market more broadly."

edit: Derpity derp, that was an unfortunate typo. Fixed the title of the thread to be less misleading.

**juraigamer**

You know, with 95% of jobs that aren't fast food requiring experience, it's no wonder the younger generation can't find work.

**Shadowseer_Kim**

A large part of why teens/young adults can not find jobs is the ever increasing minimum wage.

It continues to hurt the minorities and youth.

I can hire pretty much any neighborhood kid to help me do some work around my house for $5 an hour. Basic, really no training needed work.

If I wanted to hire that same kid in my shop, I would have to pay him I think $8.80 or $9.15. I forget what the minimum here is at the moment, then I would also need to pay half of his contribution to medicare, social security, workers comp, etc, making it about $13 an hour to hire a kid who does not know how to do anything and needs training.

The kids work is worth about $4-$5 an hour, but it is illegal to pay him that, so better to hire someone who already has skills, and needs less training.

This is not news.

**Melissia**

Shadowseer_Kim wrote:A large part of why teens/young adults can not find jobs is the ever increasing minimum wage.

That's a pathetic little scapegoat at best. Minimum wage has stagnated; at best, it fails to keep up with inflation. And your theory doesn't pan out. Georgia has a lower minimum wage than Texas but has more unemployment than Texas, New York, etc., which have higher minimum wages, do.

And even then, trying to make ends meet on 7.25 an hour when your employer only gives you 20 hours a week doesn't work.

**Shadowseer_Kim**

The point of an entry level no skill job is not to make ends meet, but to give you the oppurtunity to gain some skills first hand from working. Entry level jobs are supposed to be for teens and young adults who have zero to no living expenses. You know, living with parents, or a quad or studio apartment.

Then after figuring out they want more in life, they are supposed to strive to move on to better employment.

So don't give me your garbage about trying to make ends meet on $7.25 an hour 20 hours a week aka $500 a month. I can find a room for rent at any given time for about $300-$350 with utilities included, less in a lot of places. More in some.

**Melissia**

Shadowseer_Kim wrote:The point of an entry level no skill job is not to make ends meet

And yet,, despite your lame excuse of an explanation, it still needs to.

**youbedead**

Shadowseer_Kim wrote:The point of an entry level no skill job is not to make ends meet, but to give you the oppurtunity to gain some skills first hand from working. Entry level jobs are supposed to be for teens and young adults who have zero to no living expenses. You know, living with parents, or a quad or studio apartment.

Then after figuring out they want more in life, they are supposed to strive to move on to better employment.

So don't give me your garbage about trying to make ends meet on $7.25 an hour 20 hours a week aka $500 a month. I can find a room for rent at any given time for about $300-$350 with utilities included, less in a lot of places. More in some.

So you are left with 150 dollars or less a month to cover all other expenses, including food, gas, medical,or any other things that can pop, good luck.

To borrow an expression form our British cousins thats bollocks

**Shadowseer_Kim**

That would be your decision to have such expensive living conditions on such a wage. You can find proper housing for less. I gave a worst case scenario.

If you go with best case, aka free, living with parents, then you have $500 to do with whatever you like.

**youbedead**

Shadowseer_Kim wrote:That would be your decision to have such expensive living conditions on such a wage. You can find proper housing for less. I gave a worst case scenario.

If you go with best case, aka free, living with parents, then you have $500 to do with whatever you like.

Cheapest apartments around here, 134 a week. Your original argument was that minimum wage is hurting the economy and that 500 dollars a month is enough to live on. So once again your argument is full of gak.

**Shadowseer_Kim**

I realize most of you will never be convinced.

I never said the minimum wage was hurting the economy, I said it was probably the largest contributor to the high % of teen unemployment.

You may all continue on your belief that if only the minimum wage was higher, everything would be better. Ask yourself, what is a reasonable minimum wage? You all say it needs to be something you can live on, some people say it needs to be able to support a family.

So what is reasonable? $20 an hour? $40 an hour? $100 an hour? Tell your legislators to stop mucking about with these small 10 cents an hour increases in minimum wage and just step it up to whatever your number is.

Goodluck.

**deathholydeath**

Shadowseer_Kim wrote:

So don't give me your garbage about trying to make ends meet on $7.25 an hour 20 hours a week aka $500 a month. I can find a room for rent at any given time for about $300-$350 with utilities included, less in a lot of places. More in some.

Please share. I would love to see this. Even the gakiest places in Louisiana have a rent of at least 600$ a month and that doesn't include utilities beyond water-- and this when Louisiana is basically the &*#hole of the United States.
My experience with other places is limited to CO, and the rates here are quite expensive.

**MrDwhitey**

Wait, I remember someone pulling a sort of "incredibly low cost living standard" thing before to support an argument, and being completely and utterly wrong and roundly refuted on all the costs.

Who was that again?

**Horst**

yea, minimum wage won't pay for gak. However, its pretty easy for people to get a job that pays $13-15 an hour (assuming they have SOME marketable skill, and SOME work experience somewhere) which can pay the bills comfortably.

Of course, many people at the end of this demographic (the 18-24 demographic) have hefty student loans, and so require $25-$30 an hour jobs to make ends meet.

**MrDwhitey**

How do student loans work over there? Do you only start paying them off once you hit a certain wage level?

**Horst**

MrDwhitey wrote:How do student loans work over there? Do you only start paying them off once you hit a certain wage level?

haha, I wish. No, you start paying them off 6 months after you stop going to school full time.

If you can't get a job to pay it off... well your fethed. Go back to school again I guess?

**Ouze**

Melissia wrote:
Shadowseer_Kim wrote:A large part of why teens/young adults can not find jobs is the ever increasing minimum wage.
your theory doesn't pan out. Georgia has a lower minimum wage than Texas but has more unemployment than Texas, New York, etc., which have higher minimum wages, do.

QFT; since this was a great point and so was completely ignored.

so far as paying back student loans; Horst made it sound like your boned if you can't pay it back but you can apply for various different things to (temporarily) either pay it back partially or not at all for some durations. Look into income-based repayment, in which payments are lessened or completely stop until you hit a certain income threshold. You must apply for one every year, and the interest doesn't stop; but it only takes a single double sided form and you must supply a tax return.

**rubiksnoob**

Please, please tell me where to find a place for 300 bucks a month! Despite the fact that they apparently abound, I have not been able to find any.

**Fafnir**

I'd kill for a place that's $500 a month. My roommate and I pay $1000 a month for a piece of gak apartment that can't even guarantee hot water.

**Jihadin**

They found that 75 percent of American young adults do not qualify to serve in the military because they have criminal records, are physically unfit or — the biggest reason — have inadequate levels of education. One out of every four American students fails to get the high school diploma needed to join the military.

This includes about half of the nation’s black and Hispanic students, who drop out of high school. Even more disturbing is the report’s finding that 30 percent of the young people graduating from America’s high schools don’t do well enough in math, science and English on the aptitude test to serve in the military.

Found this bit reading another article

**TheWildHost**

Jihadin wrote:
They found that 75 percent of American young adults do not qualify to serve in the military because they have criminal records, are physically unfit or — the biggest reason — have inadequate levels of education. One out of every four American students fails to get the high school diploma needed to join the military.

Found this bit reading another article

+
Well... good thing my problem is fixable.

**youbedead**

Jihadin wrote:
They found that 75 percent of American young adults do not qualify to serve in the military because they have criminal records, are physically unfit or — the biggest reason — have inadequate levels of education. One out of every four American students fails to get the high school diploma needed to join the military.

This includes about half of the nation’s black and Hispanic students, who drop out of high school. Even more disturbing is the report’s finding that 30 percent of the young people graduating from America’s high schools don’t do well enough in math, science and English on the aptitude test to serve in the military.

Found this bit reading another article

I mean no offense, but how can one-third of potential recruits be so dumb that they can even be a grunt, seriously. Thats just ... I have no words

**TheWildHost**

youbedead wrote:
Jihadin wrote:
They found that 75 percent of American young adults do not qualify to serve in the military because they have criminal records, are physically unfit or — the biggest reason — have inadequate levels of education. One out of every four American students fails to get the high school diploma needed to join the military.

This includes about half of the nation’s black and Hispanic students, who drop out of high school. Even more disturbing is the report’s finding that 30 percent of the young people graduating from America’s high schools don’t do well enough in math, science and English on the aptitude test to serve in the military.

Found this bit reading another article

I mean no offense, but how can one-third of potential recruits be so dumb that they can even be a grunt, seriously. Thats just ... I have no words

Most young people my age just don't care, plain and simple.

**Jihadin**

Dumb might not be it...unfit...criminal record already..

ASVAB test description Barney level

Hello Future Marine,

I want to clarify and try to put a stop to this statement that you need a 32 on the ASVAB.

NO friends. You need a 32 on the AFQT. The AFQT is the Armed Forces Qualification Test.

When you take the total ASVAB part of that test taking time is taking the AFQT. All the AFQT does is tell the military whether you have enough "smarts" to be in the service.

If you make the minimum AFQT test score of 32% out of 99% possible then you are mentally qualified to enter the Marines. Any more over the minimum score is nice to know but you can get in with a 32%.

Now, what IS the ASVAB? The ASVAB is the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. It is these test questions (I think I remember that there are 200 questions) that you have to answer which will tell the military where your interests and aptitudes lie.

The ASVAB has 4 scores: There is a score for Mechanical interests; Electrical interests; Administrative interests; and General interests. From these scores the service wants to "guide" you into the jobs (MOS in the Army and Marines) that you score the highest in because that will ensure that you can be successful in that field.

Also, there are a number of sub scores that the Navy and Army and Marines use to determine which MOS or Navy Rating you are most qualified to enter.

In the Marines these are the sub scores from the ASVAB:

The ASVAB subtests for determining the composites are: General Science (GS), Arithmetic Reasoning (AR), Word Knowledge (WK), Paragraph Comprehension (PC), Numerical Operations (NO), Coding Speed (CS), Auto and Shop Information (AS), Mathematics Knowledge (MK), Mechanical Comprehension (MC), Electronics Information (EI), and Sum of Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension, scaled (VE).

Current aptitude area composites used for MOS selection for the Marine Corps are as follows:

CL- Clerical, Administrative, Supply & Finance - NO + CS + VE (Note: CL Score was eliminated in late 2002. All job Marine Corps requirements that required a CL score were changed to GT Score at this time. The score requirements are the same. In other words, if a job previously required a CL score of 90, then it was changed to require a GT score of 90).

EL -Electronics Repair, Missile Repair, Electronics and Communications -GS+AR+MK+EI

MM - Mechanical Maintenance, Construction, Utility and Chemical Maintenance (hazmat) - GS+AS+MK+MC

GT - General Technical, Special and Officer Programs - VE+AR

To be in Marine Infantry MOS 0311 you need a GT score of 80.

I believe that the military is misleading when it refers to the ASVAB score by the AFQT score.

What they should do to end the confusion is to TELL you that your AFQT score to qualify to enter the military is: and then give you that number.

Then, they should tell you your real ASVAB scores to help you select the military job that you are most qualified to enter and that you have the highest chance of succeeding in.

Remember this: Everybody in the Marines is an Infantry man. You all have to learn combat skills.
Don't just give up on the other very important Marine MOS (jobs). If your ASVAB scores qualify you for a job in the Marines other than being in the Infantry then go for it.

Once you make the minimum AFQT score of 32% I don't care if you got a 50% or an 80%. All I know as a recruiter would be that I can enlist you into the Marines because you MADE the minimum or better.

Next, I want to help you get assigned to the best MOS field that will make you the most successful Marine for the Corps.

To me the ASVAB 4 area scores and the sub scores are the most important thing to consider in picking a Marine Corps MOS.

Go for your highest skill and aptitude interest area.

Semper Fi,

Larry Smith
Senior Master Sergeant, USAF (Ret.)
First Sergeant

**youbedead**

Jihadin wrote:Dumb might not be it...unfit...criminal record already..

ASVAB test description Barney level

Hello Future Marine,

I want to clarify and try to put a stop to this statement that you need a 32 on the ASVAB.

NO friends. You need a 32 on the AFQT. The AFQT is the Armed Forces Qualification Test.

When you take the total ASVAB part of that test taking time is taking the AFQT. All the AFQT does is tell the military whether you have enough "smarts" to be in the service.

If you make the minimum AFQT test score of 32% out of 99% possible then you are mentally qualified to enter the Marines. Any more over the minimum score is nice to know but you can get in with a 32%.

Now, what IS the ASVAB? The ASVAB is the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. It is these test questions (I think I remember that there are 200 questions) that you have to answer which will tell the military where your interests and aptitudes lie.

The ASVAB has 4 scores: There is a score for Mechanical interests; Electrical interests; Administrative interests; and General interests. From these scores the service wants to "guide" you into the jobs (MOS in the Army and Marines) that you score the highest in because that will ensure that you can be successful in that field.

Also, there are a number of sub scores that the Navy and Army and Marines use to determine which MOS or Navy Rating you are most qualified to enter.

In the Marines these are the sub scores from the ASVAB:

The ASVAB subtests for determining the composites are: General Science (GS), Arithmetic Reasoning (AR), Word Knowledge (WK), Paragraph Comprehension (PC), Numerical Operations (NO), Coding Speed (CS), Auto and Shop Information (AS), Mathematics Knowledge (MK), Mechanical Comprehension (MC), Electronics Information (EI), and Sum of Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension, scaled (VE).

Current aptitude area composites used for MOS selection for the Marine Corps are as follows:

CL- Clerical, Administrative, Supply & Finance - NO + CS + VE (Note: CL Score was eliminated in late 2002. All job Marine Corps requirements that required a CL score were changed to GT Score at this time. The score requirements are the same. In other words, if a job previously required a CL score of 90, then it was changed to require a GT score of 90).

EL -Electronics Repair, Missile Repair, Electronics and Communications -GS+AR+MK+EI

MM - Mechanical Maintenance, Construction, Utility and Chemical Maintenance (hazmat) - GS+AS+MK+MC

GT - General Technical, Special and Officer Programs - VE+AR

To be in Marine Infantry MOS 0311 you need a GT score of 80.

I believe that the military is misleading when it refers to the ASVAB score by the AFQT score.

What they should do to end the confusion is to TELL you that your AFQT score to qualify to enter the military is: and then give you that number.

Then, they should tell you your real ASVAB scores to help you select the military job that you are most qualified to enter and that you have the highest chance of succeeding in.

Remember this: Everybody in the Marines is an Infantry man. You all have to learn combat skills.
Don't just give up on the other very important Marine MOS (jobs). If your ASVAB scores qualify you for a job in the Marines other than being in the Infantry then go for it.

Once you make the minimum AFQT score of 32% I don't care if you got a 50% or an 80%. All I know as a recruiter would be that I can enlist you into the Marines because you MADE the minimum or better.

Next, I want to help you get assigned to the best MOS field that will make you the most successful Marine for the Corps.

To me the ASVAB 4 area scores and the sub scores are the most important thing to consider in picking a Marine Corps MOS.

Go for your highest skill and aptitude interest area.

Semper Fi,

Larry Smith
Senior Master Sergeant, USAF (Ret.)
First Sergeant

I was talking about the second bit, "Even more disturbing is the report’s finding that 30 percent of the young people graduating from America’s high schools don’t do well enough in math, science and English on the aptitude test to serve in the military."

**Jihadin**

AAhhh kk I'm tracking now. More I think about mor I don't like the idea there be a seperation of UNeducated american and educated americans down the road. Like (I hate to loosely term this) A worker class and a easy life class..eerrrr caste

**TheWildHost**

Jihadin wrote:AAhhh kk I'm tracking now. More I think about mor I don't like the idea there be a seperation of educated american and educated americans down the road. Like (I hate to loosely term this) A worker class and a easy life class..eerrrr caste

Well, it's a rough life, but someones got to live it.

**LordofHats**

Yep. I'm working part time nights at FedEx loading trucks because even when I can get a job interview (which is maybe 1 out of every 15 applications I fill out) I usually lose the job to someone older with more experience. Lots of jobs I don't get considered for at all probably cause they say they want experience I don't have.

**TheWildHost**

LordofHats wrote:Yep. I'm working part time nights at FedEx loading trucks because even when I can get a job interview (which is maybe 1 out of every 15 applications I fill out) I usually lose the job to someone older with more experience. Lots of jobs I don't get considered for at all probably cause they say they want experience I don't have.

Could it be possible to lie about your experience? I may sound dumb by saying this, but it would make sense.

**LordofHats**

Most places I end up signing up for say they'll do a background check. They probably don't, but its generally a risk I won't take.

Part of it though is that a lot of really good companies to work for (like FedEx and UPS) only hire from within. They make you work the crappy part time job loading trucks to get considered for full time work and management. Sometimes you have to accept that you're going to have to have a

job for a year or two to get something remotely decent and a lot of people I know aren't willing to do that. They go to college graduate, and expect to earn $80,000 a year off the bat.

**Jihadin**

Bah little over two months left before I venture out in the world for...a...j...o....b...I've gone over my resume so many times now its not even funny. I actually want an office job, making decent money and not living paycheck to paycheck. As long as I can bank a couple hundred a month I would feel like I'm breaking even