http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/the_...GqsXMuIlGONNX1K

We all cant be Green, Web Designers kids. Some will have to get real jobs.)


The dead end kids Young, unemployed and facing tough future
By RICHARD WILNER
3:51 PM, September 28, 2009

The number of young Americans without a job has exploded to 52.2 percent — a post-World War II high, according to the US Labor Dept. — meaning millions of Americans are staring at the likelihood that their lifetime earning potential will be diminished and, combined with the predicted slow economic recovery, their transition into productive members of society could be put on hold for an extended period of time.

The number represents the flip-side to the Labor Dept.'s report that the employment rate of 16-to-24 year olds has eroded to 47.83 percent -- the lowest ratio of working young Americans in that age group, including all but those in the military, since WWII.




United States President Barack Obama

And worse, without a clear economic recovery plan aimed at creating entry-level jobs, the odds of many of these young adults -- aged 16 to 24, excluding students -- getting a job and moving out of their parents' houses are long. Young workers have been among the hardest hit during the current recession -- in which a total of 9.5 million jobs have been lost.

"It's an extremely dire situation in the short run," said Heidi Shierholz, an economist with the Washington-based Economic Policy Institute. "This group won't do as well as their parents unless the jobs situation changes."

Al Angrisani, the former assistant Labor Department secretary under President Reagan, doesn't see a turnaround in the jobs picture for entry-level workers and places the blame squarely on the Obama administration and the construction of its stimulus bill.

"There is no assistance provided for the development of job growth through small businesses, which create 70 percent of the jobs in the country," Angrisani said in an interview last week. "All those [unemployed young people] should be getting hired by small businesses."

There are six million small businesses in the country, those that employ less than 100 people, and a jobs stimulus bill should include tax credits to give incentives to those businesses to hire people, the former Labor official said.

"If each of the businesses hired just one person, we would go a long way in growing ourselves back to where we were before the recession," Angrisani noted.

During previous recessions, in the early '80s, early '90s and after Sept. 11, 2001, unemployment among 16-to-24 year olds never went above 50 percent. Except after 9/11, jobs growth followed within two years.

A much slower recovery is forecast today. Shierholz believes it could take four or five years to ramp up jobs again.

A study from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, a government database, said the damage to a new career by a recession can last 15 years. And if young Americans are not working and becoming productive members of society, they are less likely to make major purchases -- from cars to homes -- thus putting the US economy further behind the eight ball.

Angrisani said he believes that Obama's economic team, led by Larry Summers, has a blind spot for small business because no senior member of the team -- dominated by academics and veterans of big business -- has ever started and grown a business.

"The Reagan administration had people who knew of small business," he said.
"They should carve out $100 billion right now and create something like $5,000 to $6,000 job credits that would drive the hiring of young, idled workers by small business."

Angrisani said the stimulus money going to extending unemployment benefits is like a narcotic that is keeping the unemployed content -- but doing little to get them jobs.

Labor Dept. statistics also show that the number of chronically unemployed -- those without a job for 27 weeks or more -- has also hit a post-WWII high.




community activists... wtf do they know about business..

can't we just have a rolling thread for obama haters so AP and nagode and all the other fucksticks can have their own little circle jerk whenever they want?

Where in that article does it say that 52% of 16-24 year olds are unemployed?

the first sentence....

The number represents the flip-side to the Labor Dept.'s report that the employment rate of 16-to-24 year olds has eroded to 47.83 percent -- the lowest ratio of working young Americans in that age group, including all but those in the military, since WWII.

%age of people in work + %age of people unemployed doesn't equal 100%.

They rounded 52.17% to 52.2% in the first number?

wtf with the editing of the original post?

Consider your current or most recent job. How much did you accomplish within less than your first year? While I tend to welcome all criticism, I just think it's too early to put all of this on the president.

When you were typing this did you actually think that my point might have been that figure wasn't quoted to two decimal places? I mean really?



Unemployment Rate = (Unemployed Workers / Total Work Force)*100

It is not 1- % of people in employment.


Read this if you are still confused.

ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/lf/aat3.txt

See that big section for 'not in labor force', you need to take them out of the equation before you work out the unemployment rate.

If the %age of that age group employed is under fifty percent then it's likely the unemployment figure is around 15-20% and also likely the higher end. The unemployment figure for that age range is not 52.2% unless you think the rate was 34% for 16+ averaged across all of 2008.

and it goes without saying that 18, 20% is a desperately high number regardless. Maybe if you still had any kind of manufacturing industry to speak of that might be the solution.

I just got an invite to a meeting w/my boss tomorrow with no subject and no agenda. She's been stone-cold avoiding me for a few days and didn't reply to my e-mail asking if I should prepare anything for the meeting - chances are likely that I may be joining this number tomorrow!

You should reply and say you cant make it because you've got way too much shit to do

Sucks. Odds are your gut is correct. Thats pretty much a mirror image of my layoff story in May.

Unfortunately the article is pretty correct. Office-related entry level shit simply dosent exist out there today. I worked for two years in what was a pretty good entry job (albeit boring and soul sucking as hell, but hey it paid bills and left me some extra cash at the end of the day). To find something similar today is an exercise in futility. Which leaves my next move a great big question mark. Remind me why I spent all that money on a college education again....oh, right, because our nation has now evolved to a "knowledge industry". My ass it has. I've debated biting the bullet, saying fuck it all and just romping off with the peace corps for 2 years. At least it will get me out of the house.

But the people blaming this on Obama are obviously oblivious to the fact that the entire financial industry started collapsing well before election time.

Worst poster no longer vamos, now Anakin.

jeff tweedy, you got all of my condolences. there's a distinct possibility that i'll be losing my job in a few weeks as well. the library system in pittsburgh is closing a few branches as a result of budget shortages. and i work in one of the least busy libraries, one in a particularly bad neighborhood. my chances aren't looking good, and they're going to announce the closures at the start of october.

the worst part is, i've been in this situation already twice before and i'm barely a quarter century old. it's layoff season, but what can you do?

I think the little pischers are just too proud to wear a paper hat or a name tag.

Yeah, it sucks if this is how I go down...and also totally the discretion of the boss. I have had a feeling she has been gunning for me since she took over my department about a month ago.

But hey - I didn't go to school for this job, I went to be a teacher, and I only turned to this job when too much post-college debt was ruining my stab at being a sub and sticking at a school. When I started 2 years ago, I had 70 bucks to my name, rent due in 3 weeks, and the reality that my parents would not be able to help me out and schools were going on break soon so my calls would be way down. I was starting to look for things to sell and formulating a move that would have me living with my Uncle in Seattle for awhile despite my girlfriend being here. It was looking grim.

If it goes down, I leave the company 2 years later, with only a small amount left on my student loan, no credit card debt, 18000 in the bank, and a Big Name Corporation on my resume. And my girlfriend is now my wife. So, I'll take this scenario any day. We have some padding to help out until I get back in the swing of something.

Thanks for the sympathy, fellow worker bees.

Don't go quietly Tweedy Tum.. kick and scream and let everybody know what a whore the boss lady is... OK not really but have fun with it if you can. May as well right?

edit- btw for the record what a bullshit unemployment marker that is. How many 16-20 year olds have you known to keep full time employment in a significant role when the larger number is actually still attending high school or college? I'm not excusing the number but it's like worrying about the number of babies that don't shit in their pants or something.
I mean who the hell cares? Sure unemployment is high now. We just got done watching the real estate market bubble burst followed by the high stakes bull crap that the banks have been playing and we're in the process of trying to keep things rolling rather than letting everything fold in on itself. Lots of folks are unemployed. Coming out and saying how teenagers are having a hard time finding a gig isn't surprising. Usually they don't believe in doing manual labor when they're so busy texting on their iphones and playing Rock Band. There's plenty of work out there. Just not the kind americans have become accustom to doing.

Or at the very least, ask her if she'll refer you to a couple of informational interviews w/ colleagues outside or inside the company. Ask her if she knows of any leads in your line of work (whatever your job has been). It'll relieve her guilt (if any) so she'll only be too happy to oblige.

edit: and good luck.

good call v- I hadn't even considered that one.

looks familiar...though that might just be what every office park in chicagoland looks like

tweedy - consider crafting a short pleasant farewell email to coworkers that you can shoot out on your way out the door should the expected come to pass. don't mention you've been canned though - just say something like 'this has been my last day working with you all...'

those in charge of letting people go really seem to be remarkably inept in general about going about it. my only full-time office job (for a year, after college) ended in an awkward layoff. vacation request sat languishing on the boss's desk rather than being signed off on and sent to HR. i didn't think much of it, probably because i had recently had a performance review where i had been told that christmas bonuses were to be anticipated in a couple of months. but then one day i got a call from the HR guy asking if i could come to his office. as i put down the phone and started the long walk down there i could suddenly see the writing on the wall. and when i saw my boss sitting in the room as i arrived i was fully prepared for what was to ensue. bossman, on the other hand, let HR man do all the talking. as i was cleaning out my desk a short time later my coworker returned in tears from the same location. so, after finishing things up at the office and having lunch with the similarly fated coworker and her cousin (another employee in our tiny department) i was ready to head up to milwaukee to help out in advance of my second major setback in the span of a few days - the reelection of one george w bush, whose economic landscape had contributed to my new reality. oh, the irony

related to the thread topic, a simple 'unemployment is not the same as joblessness' might have saved a lot of back and forth

Well, I'm not dead yet. But it's just a matter of time.

Went into the meeting and found out I was being put on "Final Probation" for falsifying hours. I've always logged in 8-4:30 rather than the truth, which is closer to 8:15-4:45. Yes, this counts as falsifying hours, even in cases where I worked longer than I had logged. Any slight error on my part going forward will result in immediate termination. My boss, the two-faced bitch that she is, even went as far as to tell me that she was personally hurt when she learned of what I had done. Unfortunately, the fact that they've kept me hanging on a string stopped me from telling her what I really think. Now I have to notify management of my arrival and departure times, as well as any time I leave my desk (even to use the washroom).

I'm going to start looking for some solid teaching related gigs tomorrow and when I've found a few, if I'm still employed, I'm just going to show up late one day and get canned. Fuck 'em. They're trying to cut us entry level peons by finding the slightest policy break and taking us to task for it - I'll be the third in 4 months (as opposed to 0 firings in the previous 18)

Yikes. There's no flex policy, I take it? I hate that petty bullshit.

Please tell me that you'll burn that fucking place to the ground.

my boss just imposed the very same time clock routine on another department. Talk about tightening the screws.. honestly, how is this actually going to get 'more' work out of people?

I don't think it's designed for that, I think it's there to get more people out of work.

And the ones left behind fall even further into line out of fear.


Well, gotta use the restroom, better make sure I have permission first...

AT&T instituted that same type of 'logging in/time out/time" thing because a major competitor got hit with a huge delinquent overtime lawsuit, and well, AT&T is one greedy bastard.

Yeah, 3+ months of unemployment, and I'm still a little bitter.

It has been really hard to find something similar to my old job, that pays anywhere near as good.

Might I suggest: By-Tor Male Prostitute.

or do you prefer, man whore?

39. The unemployment checks are helping, as well as Jess' job, where she has always made more $ than me, anyway. I actually have been able to start making more regular payments on my credit cards though, since I have stopped using credit cards for any purchases. This summer I spent the majority of my time on the garden, which was very healing.

As for Tjenz' proposal, I don't think I am "hung" enough to insure financial stability.

Bi-Tor.
To aim for a bigger market.

You must have attended "Banya's" seminar.

Been unemployed all year. Last job was in December. had to quit cos my dad's truck sucks at driving in the snow, even with the bed completely packed with weight. been looking all year, and i've applied to a few jobs here and there. no takers. at. all. looks like the only option is to go back to delivering pizzas. the only catch with THAT is that my car needs to get fixed. ugh. no car=no money. no money=no car. UGH!!!! to add insult to injury, my dad's house got foreclosed and we need to move by the 28th. DOUBLE UGH!!!!! we might have a place to go, just waiting on dad to get his ass in order.....

Please- before you let the legal authorities evict you-- demand that they show you a copy of the mortgage agreement. I have heard (via Michael Moore 'propaganda') that most banks will not be able to find the original document, and that if they fail to produce it, it can reduce their legal claim to your property.

I know nothing of the law, but this seems to make sense to me. Any other real, legal minds care to share an opinion on this?

Here's a link to an Obama initiative that may help:

http://www.freemodificationconsultation.co...CFeFM5QodwVaMrQ

Plus that seems quick for a foreclosure/taking of a house. You're allowed to stay there until everything is in the books, from what I know.

I'd advise getting in touch with NHS if you're in the Chicagoland area. edit: which you are. There's actually an office right by you, I believe. Those guys are overflowing with foreclosure cases, but they can help.

The deal was done in September. I have until the 28th. Looking on craigslist, but nothing. Googled, nothing. newspapers, nothing. this shit is hard when you have a dog, a cat, and a smoker.

My church did nothing but pray. and that hasn't helped at all. Lazy ass "god."

DHS doesnt help in this case, according to the website. Besides, I hate it here. Fuck Elgin.

Have a couple houses on the list, just seeing what we might pick.

This probably isnt what you want to hear, but you're setting yourself up for disappointment if thats your criteria.

who is the smoker and how much is spent monthly on smokes? just curious.

By-Tor i see the above from cerebral, and he is right. Dood, I have been out of work since February, and I was ignoring job opportunities that were $5 below my previous rate. i should kick myself now.

the cat/$40-$45

No, it's not just pay that i'm looking for. I've kind of accepted the fact that I'm going to start 10-20K below where I left off. I think i actually applied for 3 jobs today. It's to the point now, where I feel like an ugly chick giving out my phone number at the bar. I'm applying almost out of "spite". Even applying to stuff that doesn't totally interest me, and isnt' quite what I want, etc. I've definitely adopted a "WTF" attitude about the whole thing.

I hear ya. I hear ya.

Good luck on the job hunt By-Tor and Aggy. I've been out of work for almost 14 months and it's ugly out there. I know it's tough to stay positive but keep your chins up.

Seej good luck with the home search. I hope something comes along soon.

didn't have anything but maybe a bit of temp work for 18 months after graduating college (first grad class after tech bubble burst/sept. 11 plus my grades weren't very good). rougher now than it was then, but i can sympathize

dad smokes. he buys manitous. theyre imported so they're cheaper. 35/carton. and i think he goes thru a carton every 2 weeks. i havent asked dad about it (cos i'm scared of another argument, ugh) but he should really call the Realtor/landlord/whoever about the one house we were really leaning towards. we called last wknd about seeing it again and she didn't call back. i'm getting worried that someone else took it and i really dont want to wait until tomorrow to call again. i hate the weekends in cases like this.

thanx for the encouragement. glad to see im not alone in the job market. pizza delivery still looks to be the only way out, if the car can get fixed. thats another story im not going into cos it makes me too fucking angry.

alright folks - I need your help.

some of you may have seen my posts a few weeks ago about being on the verge of getting canned for some bs. when they decided to just discipline me and require me to start writing documentation for the processes I handle, I took it as a major indication that I needed to get out on my terms before I was removed. I still haven't been removed - but I've found a few opportunities to get back into the world of education, which is what I went to school for anyways. It will mean less money, lack of insurance, etc. but it is going to get me in the door to getting into the career that I want and have wanted for most of my life so now is probably the time to do it (still young, just married, understanding wife, low maintenance lifestyle, reasonably large financial cushion saved up). I have the opportunity to start getting a good amount of substitute work very soon, and I think I just want to give a 1 week notice tomorrow so that I can get going with teaching asap.

Is 1 week enough? The guy who had my desk load previously gave one week notice and it wasn't until his last day that they assigned his desk to me so I had 1 day of training. Now, I'm brighter than most of my co-workers but 1 week should certainly be enough time, in my eyes, to train my replacements and write some procedures. I don't think I'll get a good reference from this particular boss anyways, but do you think only giving 1 week notice is a grave enough sin that I will get a negative response from the company in general?

Also, how does this sort of thing work in the professional world - do I need to write a letter of resignation?

i wouldn't think the letter of resignation is necessary. depends on what the company requirements would be for your job though i suppose. i'd just ask when you sit down with whoever

as for notice, is there really any harm giving 2 weeks? 'cause unless you're not planning on giving this boss as a reference then lesser notice would be a pretty concrete reason for him to disparage you. on the other hand, you could express interest to your teaching contact(s) first and when/if they ask when you can start just say something like "i'd like to give a week's notice at least." if they say ok they've sorta implied they're ok with that regardless of what your current boss thinks

good luck and keep us posted

just send the boss a bag of dog shit. he'll get the picture.

Do whatever you can to get a good reference, you won't regret it.

Sounds like you'll be doing the boss a favor by leaving anyway so do it nicely and give good reasons and it might work out well for you.