“IT’S A GAME OF MUSICAL CHAIRS”: MILLENNIALS STILL STRUGGLING TO FIND DECENT-PAYING JOBS

[Stephan Bobb]

“IT’S A GAME OF MUSICAL CHAIRS”: MILLENNIALS STILL STRUGGLING TO FI...

June 9, 2015 ‐ By Kimberly Gedeon

 

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It’s no surprise that job seekers without a degree have it bad in what MarketWatch calls a “second-rate” economy. But even Millennials emerging from prestigious universities are having trouble finding decent-paying jobs.

The plight of today’s young employees is a symbol of the economy’s lagging performance, thanks to the Great Recession. The last time the American economy has grown 3 percent annually was a decade ago. As a result, the financial practices of millennials are thriftier than previous generations.

“Millennials […] live longer at home after they get out of school, get married less, have fewer kids and are less apt to buy big-ticket items such as cars or homes,” MarketWatch said.

The unemployment rate for young employees, 25-to-34-year olds, rose higher and dropped more slowly after the economic downturn in comparison to other age groups. Today, the jobless rate for millennials is 5.8 percent, which is still above the 5.5 percent national average. And even though highly educated millennials have fared the best in the job market, their jobless rate is still higher now than it was in 2007.

“If you have a bachelor’s degree, you are going to find a job,” said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at McGladrey, a business-consultant firm. “The question is are you going to find a job commensurate with your skills.”

Almost half of all graduates in 2013 and 2014, according to consultant firm Accenture, consider themselves underemployed or working at a job that does not require a degree. Some 41 percent say they make less than $25,000 a year. This mirrors the U.S. economy’s current problem — most job growths are sprouting from low-wage industries such as retail and hospitality.

Another headache that the U.S. economy is currently grappling with is the low demand for intermediate-skilled workers.

“We have a tight jobs market for highly educated and skilled workers,” said Kate Warne, an investment advisor at the brokerage Edward Jones. “We have a lot of slack for unskilled workers.” Which may explain why millennials are sensitive about being fired.

As a result, recent college graduates are filling up these low-skilled jobs which are supposed to be reserved for employees without a degree. This leaves fewer work opportunities for the less-educated.

But all hope is not lost. Yes the U.S. economy is underperforming, but it is improving. The number of jobs injected into the economy in 2014 was the highest in 15 years. And May saw a robust 280,000 jobs. MarketWatch also noted a big surge in hiring in 2014.

But for now, the economy is still a game of musical chairs. “There are not enough seats for everybody,” Scott Anderson, chief economist at Bank of the West, said.