Unemployment. Have you ever actually tried to wrap your head around the concept?
I'm no economist, but as an observer, it seems pretty ridiculous that there are people who want to work and can't. Meanwhile, there are unfilled jobs that the nation's unemployed ranks do not have the skills for.
Furthermore, those who do work often are in jobs ill-suited for them. The workforce is a giant puzzle that doesn't actually fit together.
A large portion of the random pieces are young people. For instance, while the nation's unemployment rate is just shy of 10%, it's more than 18% for 16- to 24-year-olds.
I just finished reading BusinessWeek's cover story about "The Lost Generation," which examined the recession's impact on young workers. (Also check out the podcast interview with Peter Coy, who wrote the piece.) On a global scale, young people are hit especially hard by the economic downturn. We often think, "Oh, they can just live with their parents," and many of them do. The problem is, young people who can't find jobs or take jobs they are overqualified for have trouble getting back on track, and it can have long-lasting effects.
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3 comments:
Young and old lose Ellie. Such a disparity, a lot of jobs available and the unemployed are not skilled to fill those positions. In order to begin getting skilled, one would have to go to college for 1-2years.
I run a website for the unemployed (WWW.WERQIN.COM)and in my research I found that unemployment numbers are based on about 60,000 households. This translates into approximately 110,000 people. If this is the case, unemployment figures are well over 30 percent. That's my estimate at least. This comes directly from the Department of Laobr.
http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htm
I especially relate to what you wrote about people holding jobs that they are not very good at. It frustrates me that often an employer will put up with a terrible employee because its easier to do that than to go find someone better suited for the position.
@pm60657 - Thanks for the startling data. I realize the recession is hurting everyone; I just found the effect on young people interesting. We might be focusing more on dilapidated retirement accounts and not paying attention to the lagging start many young people are getting in their careers. Thanks so much for your comment.
@Josh - I'm glad this resonated with you. I completely agree that it is frustrating to both be someone who isn't doing the best job they could be doing AND to have co-workers who aren't doing a good job. In general, there is a lot of inertia in the workforce. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
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