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Jobless Graduates
Today, college is vital to post high school life. Family, friends, teachers, and others tell
students that they need to go to college in order to make something for themselves. Thanks to
them, students have it set into their minds that college is their savior and that it is the certain
ticket to the career of ones choice. Unfortunately, what was guaranteed to both recent college
graduates and those who graduated some time ago is no longer there. College graduates are
unemployed and underemployed because of the changing job market and economy. There are
some solutions to xing this problem, but it requires some effort and change so that we can
create a more welcoming job market.
If there was one simple answer to why it is so hard for college graduates to nd work
after college, there probably would not be much of a problem. We could just x that one problem
and it would be over. The issue at hand is due to several contributing factors. The rst of which
is the inadequate number of jobs for college graduates to get after college, and an inadequate
number of jobs being created to keep up with the increase of population. Both of these problems
are the end result of years of mistakes made by the private sector and the government, and is
not something that just appeared suddenly. These issues were preventable, but now lets dive
deeper.
Before it is addressed as to why it is hard for graduates to nd work after college, lets
look at the current status of things pertaining to this subject. Current college graduates are in
work that requires less than a degree and/or theyre being underpaid. Roughly speaking, 60.2%
of the college graduates produced between 1992 and 2008 can be considered underemployed
using the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) classication. Put differently, what this means is that
more than 60% of the increase in college graduates during this period contributed to the
increase in the number of college graduates employed in jobs requiring less (even far less) than
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a collegiate level of formal education. (Vedder). This information may be confusing, so let me
explain further. 60.2% of college graduates are consider unemployed, meaning they are in work
that they either did not intend to be in for an extended amount of time. This work is unrelated to
the fact that they have a college degree, and they are making far less than what they should
after graduating from college. This information also states that this fact is due because for the
60% increase in college graduates. More and more people are graduating from college, which is
making it harder for college graduates to nd the work that was meant for them because it is
already taken. Between 1992 and 2008, the United States saw considerable growth in its adult
educational attainment rate (going from 21.4% to 29.4%) and added 20.5 million bachelors
degrees holders to the workforce. (Vedder). With the increase in adults obtaining college
education and/or bachelors degrees, it is very possible that our job market has not been able to
adjust to the inux of adults entering the job market that requires a degree.
The above graph is the attainment rate for adults 25 hers and older. The rate in which
adults have attained higher education have more than doubled from 1960 to know, and risen
almost 10 percent from 1990. This has thrown of the balance of the job market, making it more
competitive for college graduates to nd work. More and more graduates are having to compete
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against each other for jobs that continue to dwindle. The job market has also become tougher
for those who do not have a college degree because the graduates that do not get the good
jobs are having to work part-time at places like CVS, gas stations, etc., that would normally be
here for those with little higher education.
Because of the great recession that we have just experienced, there has been in
adjustment in current jobs and how jobs are being created. This adjustment, unfortunately, is
negative. The number of full time jobs has been decreasing. In June of 2013, we lost a total of
162,000 full-time jobs (Ferrera). With this loss of new jobs, there is also an increase in part-time
jobs which college graduates are having to take. They have no choice but to barely get by with
these jobs until they nd the career theyre looking for, if that ever comes. To keep up with the
population and the rising number of adults obtaining college degrees, 125,000 must be added
each month to keep up with the population growth. However, only 18,00 jobs were created in
August of 2011. On Top of this, we still have the past graduates who are still trying to nd work
(Fairbanks).
In the past, going to college was something people did to further their knowledge.
Through time, it has gradually turned more into going to college to get a good job and to be
scally stable. With that being said, jobs everywhere are now looking for people with more and
more education has competition gets tougher and tougher. New jobs in all industries are
demanding more education. Jobs gains during the recovery did not narrow the differences
education made in the recession. (Carnevale). Even for more basic jobs that do not require a
degree, employers are still more likely to hire a college graduate than anyone else. The sad
reality is that a large portion of college graduates today are falling into that basic job category
and are making less than what they should. According to the EPI, young college graduates with
full-time jobs earned an average hourly wage of $16.60 last year, roughly $34,500 a year. That
is down 7.6 percent from 2007. (Multikani). The graph below shoes the characterization of rst
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jobs on a career path. There is an unacceptable 42 percent of college graduates
underemployed in work just to get them by.
With college graduates being paid less and less, it is becoming harder and harder for
them nically. Students loans are a huge factor in this fact. The burden of student loans reveals
its impact in the lifestyle decisions made by young college graduates. More than one in four
(27%) said their decision to live with parents or family members was due to the need to save
money that could be directed to pay off their college loans. (Stone). What is worse is that it
doesnt seem to look like this problem is going to get any better in the near future. It takes time
for the job market to adjust to the inux in college graduates, but this will take even longer with
employers barely wanting to cooperate. Employers plan to hire only 2.1 percent more new
college graduates this year than in 2012, according to a survey from the National Association of
College and Employers. (Mutikani). If work is tough, maybe one would choose to go to a
stafng rm. A stafng rm is temporary work where the employee is expected to leave the
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employer within a designated period of time. Even in this circumstance, it is not looking good for
college graduates. A separate survey by stafng rm Abecco found that about 58 percent of
500 hiring managers across the country have no plans to hire new graduates. (Mutikani).
Employers are looking for less and less college graduates, but that does not mean there is not a
chance for those out there looking for work. There are steps and precautions that can be taken
to help improve the chances of college graduates nding their intended careers.
Yes, things are awful for college graduates, but the situation is even worse for those who
do not go to college and do not attain higher education. Unemployment for students with
Bachelors degrees is an unacceptable 8.9 percent, but its a catastrophic 22.9 percent for job
seekers with a recent high school diploma and an almost unthinkable 31.5 percent for recent
high school dropouts. (Carnevale). To break it down further, The highest unemployment rate
for recent graduates is highest in Architecture (13.9 percent) because of the collapse of the
construction and home building industry in the recession. (Carnevale). However, people are still
seeking education and not wanting to fall further down into the unemployment percents and
categories. Even with a high number of college graduates being underemployed and
unemployed, there is still a far better chance in getting a job if you have that education, or if you
seek more. Post secondary enrollment rates jump in the recession and have remained high.
During a weak labor market, when jobs are scare and wages are stagnant, workers often seek
to improve their training and leverage that for better employment (Carnevale). Experience
along with education also wields a greater chance of landing college graduates employment.
Forty percent of those taking internships said college did well in helping them nd a job,
compared to 31% of those not doing internships. (Stone). Yes, experience and education does
improve the change of college graduates nd working, but what would really make in impact?
In order for there to be more jobs for college graduates, there has to be a change in the
job market. With scientic and technological advances almost doubling each year, it is fair to say
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that our society, culture, and the rest of the world is moving into a technological age. That is,
moving into a technological age, and not there yet. In the past, we have been an industrial
nation, but to create more jobs, our country needs to invest more in science and technology.
Investing in these elds would help solve the problem of not enough jobs being created. The
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reposts indicate that occupations in computer science and
information technology will add more than 785,000 new jobs from 2008 to 2018. Statisticians
predict the technology eld will expand exponentially because of the demand for state or the art
technology products. (Mayhew). To make this even more effective, three things can be done.
Colleges and universities need to start encouraging more education in technology in as many
majors as possible, so that a person will have a higher chance of landing a job in their eld.
There should be classes about using different types of software and understanding computers
more. Those looking for jobs can raise their chances of nding work in these new jobs by seeing
how they can implement technology and science into their major/career choice. For example, if
someone is majoring in English, it would be benecial to learn different uses of technology and
how it can be used with that major. If this kind of planning is done early, there is a far greater
chance of college graduates nding the work they were promised. The latter is of course those
who create the jobs. Without companies, small business owners, and entrepreneurs, we would
not have nearly as many jobs as we do now. Existing companies and employers need to start
thinking off how their companies and businesses benet from investing some sort of technology
in what they do. New job creators should focus more on services rather than goods. In recent
years, the amount of goods has stayed about the same, but the number of services continues to
grow.
In order to x the problem of having this amount of college graduates, we must x the
number of jobs being created with the implication of science and technology, and the creation of
services into our workforce. Our generation is has grown the advancing power of computers and
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we know them better than anyone else. The current generation spends many hours a day
connected via social media and different forms of technology. It is time for our country think
about this and move from its industrial age to an age of technology and services so that our
college graduates will nd the work they were promised.

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Work Cited

Ferrara, Peter. "The Untold Unemployment Story: A Loss Of 162,000 Full-Time Jobs In June."
Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 14 July 2013. Web. 27 Jan. 2014. <http://www.forbes.com/
sites/peterferrara/2013/07/14/the-untold-unemployment-story-a-loss-of-162000-full-time-jobs-
in-june/>

Fairbanks, Amanda M. "Jobless College Graduates Struggle Under Ongoing Recession." The
Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 08 July 2011. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. <http://
www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/08/college-graduates-jobs-unemployment_n_893495.html>.

Vedder, Richard, et al. From Wall Street to Wal-Mart: Why College Graduates Are Not Getting
Good Jobs. Center for College Affordability And Productivity (2010): ERIC. Web 12
Feb. 2014 h

Carnevale, Anthony P., et al. The College Advantage: Weathering The Economic Storm.
Georgetown University Center on Education And The Workforce (2012): ERIC. Web 12
Feb. 2014

Stone, Charley, et al. Chasing The American Dream: Recent College Graduates And The Great
Recession. Work Trends. John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development (2012):
ERIC Web 12 Feb 2014
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Mutikani, Lucia. Things Arent Looking So Good for the Graduating Class of 2013. Pacific
Standard. N.p., 15 May 2013, Web. 12 Feb. 2014

Carnevale, Anthony P., et al. Hard Times, College Majors, Unemployment And Earnings: Not
All College Degrees Are Created Equal. Georgetown University On Education And The
Workforce (2012). ERIC. Web 12 Feb 2014

Nemko, Marty. "America's Most Overrated Product: The Bachelor's Degree." Chronicle
Of Higher Education 54.34 (2008): B17. ERIC. Web. 6 Apr. 2014

Mayhew, Ruth. How Is Technology Impacting The Changes in the 21st Century
Workplace? Small Business. N.p., n.d. Web 27 Jan. 2014