University Research: Grads ‘May Never Catch Up’

“In a study to be released Thursday, the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University found that recent graduates are taking awhile to find work. Only 49% of graduates from the classes of 2009 to 2011 had found a full-time job within a year of finishing school…” (“For Most Graduates, Grueling Job Hunt Awaits,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/7/12)

·         “…even when new graduates do find jobs, their starting salaries tend to be lower than those for their counterparts who graduated a decade earlier, adjusted for inflation. With a lower base pay, research shows they may never catch up.” (“For Most Graduates, Grueling Job Hunt Awaits,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/7/12)

·         “Men and women both now earn just a bit more than they did in 1989…” “According to the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank… Men and women both now earn just a bit more than they did in 1989, when measured in 2011 dollars.” (“For Most Graduates, Grueling Job Hunt Awaits,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/7/12)

More Than Half ‘Disappointed,’ ‘Worried’ Or ‘Angry’ With The Obama Presidency

AP: “The college class of 2012 is in for a rude welcome to the world of work. A weak labor market already has left half of young college graduates either jobless or underemployed…” (“1 In 2 New Graduates Are Jobless Or Underemployed,” The Associated Press, 4/23/12)

·         “…53.6 percent, of bachelor’s degree-holders under the age of 25 last year were jobless or underemployed…” (“1 In 2 New Graduates Are Jobless Or Underemployed,” The Associated Press, 4/23/12)

WSJ: “The U.S. labor market is in a malaise, but young adults are in crisis.” (“Generation Jobless: For Those Under 24, A Portrait In Crisis,” The Wall Street Journal, 11/7/11)

PEW: “…the lowest employment-to-population ratio for young adults since 1948.” (Pew Research Center, 2/9/12)

·         “Young adults hit hard by the recession… And the gap in employment between the young and all working-age adults—roughly 15 percentage points—is the widest in recorded history. In addition, young adults employed full time have experienced a greater drop in weekly earnings (down 6%) than any other age group over the past five years.” (Pew Research Center, 2/9/12)

ABC NEWS: “A survey released Thursday showed that only 34 percent of 18-to-24-year-olds are ‘satisfied’ with the Obama presidency. More than half — 51 percent – said they were either ‘disappointed,’ ‘worried’ or ‘angry,’ according to the survey from the Public Religion Research Institute and Georgetown University’s Berkeley Center.” (“Bad Economy Puts Obama In Tight Spot With Young Voters,” ABC News, 4/20/12)

THE ATLANTIC: “It is, very simply, a tough time to be young.” (“No Country For Young Men (Or Young Women),” The Atlantic, 11/8/11)

‘25 Million Adults Live At Home With Their Parents’

TIME: “Nearly 25 million adults live at home with their parents because they’re unemployed or underemployed…” (“Romance & Real Estate: How Your Housing Situation Affects Your Love Life,” TIME Magazine, 2/14/12)

PEW: “Roughly a quarter of adults ages 18 to 34 (24%) say that, due to economic conditions, they have moved back in with their parents in recent years after living on their own. Among those ages 25 to 29, the share moving back home rises to 34%.” (Pew Research Center, 2/9/12)

MSNBC: “Their employment prospects are dim, their debt is high, their lives are on hold and a stunning number are living with their parents, even into their 30s. They are young adults, 18 to 34, struggling to begin their adult lives during the worst economy since the Great Depression, and they risk becoming a lost generation…” (MSNBC, 11/2/11)