Unemployment and Young Workers One of the Term Paper

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Unemployment and Young Workers

One of the hardest-hit groups during the recent economic crisis in America was that of young college graduates. Lacking experience and possessing high rates of student debt, many struggled to find a foothold in the new economy and were forced to take jobs that did not require a college degree. More college graduates than every have been forced to live at home with their parents rather than 'striking it out' on their own. There has also been criticism of the American education system for fostering a skill mismatch between the types of skills taught to students in the classroom (particularly in the social sciences and the liberal arts) and the types of occupations actually needed by employers. Although student debt is not a problem in Europe to the same extent because of the highly-subsidized higher education system, there are similar concerns about the future of younger workers, colored with uniquely European concerns such as the financial solvency and political stability of the EU. The greatest distinction between the European and American perspective, however, is the extent to which youth unemployment is portrayed as a political, societal problem in EU nations, while in American the failure of young graduates to thrive is seen as a failure of the American dream and seen through an individualistic, localized lens.

Der Spiegel, the German newspaper of record, recently reported on the state of youth unemployment in Italy in an article entitled "A Bleak Autumn for Monti: The Catastrophic State of Italy's Labor Market." Although not normally hyperbolic in its descriptions, the centrist paper described the situation as nothing short of catastrophic. In one province of Italy, "among Sardinians between the ages of 18 and 24, the jobless rate will soon rise above 40%…Some 1.5 million jobs have disappeared in the last five years, with younger job seekers bearing much of the burden. Fully 35% of those under the age of 24 in Italy don't have work. And the trend remains negative" (Schlamp 2012).

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Even this statistic is somewhat deceivingly optimistic, the paper warns. Many of the ranks of the young employed only have part-time or contract jobs. Although the paper is a German paper, the situation in Italy is portrayed as of great concern, given that what affects Italy will also affect Germany. The paper links the high youth unemployment rate to an increased interest in extremist nationalist parties. "Across Europe, young voters are turning their backs on traditional centrist parties in favor of populist groups. Whether on the right or the left, whether in Greece or in the Netherlands, euro-skeptical parties are winning over the increasing numbers of people who have become disillusioned following years of crisis" Labor unions, which are extremely powerful in Italy, are demanding that the government work to restore the lost jobs and lower taxes, despite the EU austerity measures previously demanded of Southern European nations.

An article entitled "Life after college: high unemployment and depressed wages" on the youth unemployment rate in the American Baltimore Sun reports with a similarly dire tone on the American youth unemployment rate, also citing grim statistics: "over the last year, unemployment has averaged 9.4% for college graduates under age 25. Meanwhile, researchers at the Washington-based Economic Policy Institute found that more than 19% of grads in that age group are underemployed -- working part time when they would prefer full-time jobs" (Mirabella 2012:1). These statistics, of course, are not nearly as bad as Italy's, or any nation in Southern Europe, and the statistics are presented solely in relationship to the rest of the American economy, not in relationship to other nations.

The Sun also notes that younger workers have suffered during the past decade, economically, not just recently, and "less than half of last year's 2.7 million college grads under 25 had jobs that required a college degree" (Mirabella 2012:1). This nationalistic focus is partially due to the fact that America does not have as close an economic relationship with its neighbors.....

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