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Speak Out
How are you affected by the high unemployment rate?
 By Jeremy Quattlebaum, Student Voices staff writer
When you began your summer vacation, you might have hoped to get a job to thicken your wallet only to find that the job market was pretty sparse and competitive.
High schoolers and recent graduates, from both high school and college, are finding it harder and harder to get a job. The recession, the high unemployment rate, and competition from unemployed, older, skilled workers fighting for the same jobs have created this tough situation.
Workers ages 16 to 24 account for 14 percent of all people in the labor market, often making up the bottom ranks of businesses’ employees. Often taking lower paying jobs at the bottom rungs, they are also the most vulnerable workers. During a recession, they are often the first to be laid off.
The unemployment rate for 16 to 24 year olds is hovering near 18 percent, a full 10 percentage points higher than the unemployment rate for those 25 and older.
This phenomenon has led to what some are calling a “waithood” phase in growth; no longer teenagers but unable to support themselves, young people are “waiting” for adulthood.
The high unemployment rate for young workers is not just an American problem; it’s global. In the 34 industrialized countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, more than 16.7 million young people are unemployed and not in school.
Recent riots in London and other cities in the United Kingdom have been attributed to high unemployment rates for younger workers.
And riots are just the beginning in the some nations. At age 26, Mohamed Bouazizi became the symbol of the plight of young people in the Arab world when he set himself on fire to protest the terrible working conditions he endured in Tunisia. His death sparked protests by like-minded young people, angry over government corruption and the lack of jobs, who took to the streets and eventually overthrew the government. This led to protests throughout the Arab world, where marginalized young people have become the driving force behind the protests.
In the United States, what should the government do, if anything, to help deal with high unemployment for young people?
President Obama’s jobs bill, which he plans to unveil on Labor Day, may include tax breaks for employers that hire new workers. Would this push employers to hire a couple of extra workers who are new to the job market?
In some European countries, governments have lowered the minimum wage for younger employees as an incentive to hire inexperienced workers. Others, like the Netherlands, encourage university students to take work study internships so they will graduate with work experience in addition to a degree.
But the government alone cannot turn back rising unemployment for young people. Some private businesses have stepped up to address this issue. Companies like AT&T, Accenture and Siemens said at a U.N. conference on youth unemployment that they are developing ways to prepare college students and high schoolers for the working world through internships.
What do you think?
Has the high unemployment rate affected you? Should the government help combat unemployment among young people? What ideas do you have? How about private companies? Join the discussion and let us know what you think!
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