Lack of Jobs for College Graduates - Assignment Example

Lack of Jobs for College Graduates In various parts of the world, there has been a reduction in the number of jobs available for college graduates. In America, this is not an exception as various college graduates are faced with challenges of acquiring jobs. Consequently, a college graduate will either be unemployed or get a job that could require less skill (Snyder 1). On the other hand, the economy is experiencing challenges and hence it is producing fewer jobs for the increasing number of new graduates entering the workforce (Snyder 1). An investigation carried out indicates that in 2011, over 50 percent of Americans with a bachelor degree in their young age were either unemployed or underemployed (Snyder 1). Consequently, this has affected a large number of young college graduates. Moreover, this acts as a way of making many graduates loose hope. Most of these graduates work hard in their school lives and use more amount of resources in order to get a good college education and respectable jobs. However, after graduation the reality strikes that only a few jobs exist for the large number of graduates entering the job market. Various graduates who majors in areas of studies also face these challenges. The finance major students have faced an example of such challenge. The state is expected to last for a time due to the current nature of United States economy. Analysis of the unemployment rate in United States helps in highlighting challenges faced by college graduates such as Joblessness, getting low income, failure to repay loans. The poor economic nature that is taking place in the country is making college graduates lack jobs. The poor economy started in December 2007 (Shierholz, Sabadish and Finio, 1). The government response to the poor state of the economy has been weak and slow. Consequently, the jobs become fewer for those getting out of college. For example, there lack over 8 million jobs and the unemployment rate has risen to a high of 7 percent as compared to the previous years (Shierholz et al. 1). In fact, the unemployment rate has risen to a rate that was not even experienced in The Great Depression. The weak labor force continues to affect young workers especially those graduating from college. “The March unemployment rate of workers under age 25 was twice as compared to the national average” (Shierholz et al. 1). However, there has been a rise in the number of available jobs, but the availability is yet to satisfy many graduates. As a result, the ability to get jobs for young high school and college graduates remain unclear. There are various reasons why young graduates have been lacking jobs. First, it is clear that the poor state of the economy has led to lack of jobs to college graduates. However, the key factor is that young workers always experience excessive increases in unemployment when the economy is poor (Shierholz et al. 1). Therefore, the unemployment rate relates with the poor state of the economy experienced by the country. Moreover, there has been low demand for goods and services, and this has led to lack of jobs for graduates. The result is that many of employers are finding it not advisable to increase their hiring level (Shierholz et al. 1). This shows that lack of jobs for college graduates does not occur due to the lack of proper education and skills (Shierholz et al. 1). In the country, the unemployment and underemployment rate has improved in a minimal amount. The rates are higher among all graduates as compared to the beginning of the poor state of the economy (Shierholz et al. 1). For example, for the young college graduates, the unemployment rate is over 8 percent as compared to 2007 when it was below 6 percent (Shierholz et al. 1). On the other hand, the underemployment rate has risen significantly over the same period. Moreover, those college graduates that manage to get a job are faced by more challenges. The challenges arise from the low amount of income they are getting at the end of the month (Shierholz et al. 1). Moreover, more challenges arise for the graduates that pass out of college at the status of the economy. First, the graduate gets a job but lack opportunities for career growth in the near future (Shierholz et al. 1). Moreover, the current bunch of graduate will continue to earn less if they manage to get a job. Additionally, the graduates are not offered federal and state assistance programs as they do not have skill due to lack of experience (Shierholz et al. 1). On the other hand, the cost of higher education has been on the rise in the recent history that most of families income. Consequently, most of the students are left with little choice and are forced to take loans to cater for their education needs. However, once they graduate and get out to look for jobs, there are few opportunities and this cause a problem in loan repayment (Shierholz et al. 1). Moreover, the unemployment rate has doubled for young graduates. Thi has occurred due to the poor state of the economy and the changing policies (Shierholz et al. 1). The increased unemployment rate among the graduates is because they are the new entrant in the job scene. At this time, most of the graduates are looking for their first or second time job. The challenges arise as most of the graduates are not considered during the hiring process due to the lack of experience (Shierholz et al. 1). As a result, there have been an increased number of unemployed college graduates. On the other hand, the young graduates that are already employed do not rise to senior level. Consequently, they are more likely to be laid off when the company falls on hard times or changes takes place (Shierholz et al. 1). The population of fired workers joins the already unemployed graduates in the field. Moreover, most young graduates tend not to stay in one work place as they keep moving between jobs, employers, careers, and even cities. As a result, they spend most of their time unemployed. There are different challenges faced by most of the graduate majors. A simple case has been on the finance majors. Most of these graduates are expected to join the banking sector. However, there is low confidence due to the present happenings in the banking sector. The banking sector has been firing most of the employees (Henion and Gardner 1). In fact, even the number of MBAs has been declining in the sector. Some bank officials have acknowledged there is also trouble in the financial sector. As a result, it is expected that there will be a drop of over 40 percent in hiring of those with higher qualifications (Henion and Gardner 1). However, there is bright hope in future as policy changes starts to bear fruits. On the other hand, some of the employers seem not to be concerned with majors. Most of the employers overlook the degree focus. These institutions are hiring people not related to the job. For example, some financial institutions have been hiring people like “talented athletes” as they think they are smart and work hard (Tamny 1). Moreover, they believe such personalities will develop skills required on their line of duty. In conclusion, it is clear that most of the graduates are faced by the rate of joblessness they never expected in schools. Consequently, most of the college graduates have been forced to look for jobs that require no skills just for sustenance. Others have been forced to stay on jobs with no hope for career advancement. Furthermore, the stalemate in the economy has also led to the increase in jobless college graduates. The effect is seen on the current unemployment level as compared to the past unemployment rates. Therefore, policy changes are required to ensure graduate get decent jobs especially those that join majors. Works Cited Henion, Andy and Gardner, Phil. “Job Market mixed for College Grads.” Msu.edu. Web. 28 November 2013. . Shierholz, Heidi, Sabadish, Natalie and Finio, Nicholas. “Young graduates still face dim job prospects.” Epi.org. Web. 28 November 2013. . Snyder, Michael. “The Economic Collapse.” Theeconomiccollapseblog.com. Web. 28 November 2013. . Tamny, John. “No Job Requires A College Degree.” Forbes.com. Web. 28 November 2013. < http://www.forbes.com/sites/johntamny/2013/02/10/sorry-left-and-right-no-job-requires-a-college-degree/>. Read More