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Your presumption is that there are jobs available; according to the bureau of labor statistics, as of March 2012 there were 3.4 unemployed people for every job

by akeefer 14y ago

Your presumption is that there are jobs available; according to the bureau of labor statistics, as of March 2012 there were 3.4 unemployed people for every job opening (roughly double the ratio at the start of the recession back in December 2007).

hnal943 14y ago
Statistics on job openings discount the option of working for yourself, which is what holdenc suggested with his "Mop It Up" business.
soup10 14y ago
I don't know what the overall employment rate has to do with this. The article looks at the relative employment rate of people who have attended college vs those who haven't. People who have attended college should be more qualified for more jobs than those who haven't. They should be more employed, but they aren't. The simplest explanation(and the one that matches what I've seen/experienced) is that people who have more education are too picky about the jobs and careers they are willing to consider and are therefore finding it harder to get a job.
- _delirium 14y ago
  People who have attended college should be more qualified for more jobs than those who haven't. They should be more employed, but they aren't. In fact they are more employed, according to the article, if they actually graduated (as opposed to merely attending). The article gives, for people 25 and up, the following unemployment rates: Overall: 6.6% unemployed High school, no college: 7.7% unemployed Some college, no degree: 8% unemployed 2-year college degree: 6.2% unemployed 4-year college degree: 4% unemployed So clearly the two "have degree" categories have lower unemployment rates than the no-degree categories do. The article seems to want to conflate people who did and didn't graduate into one "attended college" category.
- stch 14y ago
  Why do you assume, a priori, someone with a college degree should be more qualified for a job than someone without one? If I was looking to hire someone for a low-skill ceiling job (cashier, janitor work, warehouse work, etc.), I would absolutely prefer someone with no college degree over someone with one -- they are probably cheaper, there's less theft risk (high school graduates tend to have far less debt), I don't have to worry about them jumping ship to a more relevant job a couple months after I finish training them, etc.

by akeefer 14y ago

hnal943 14y ago

Statistics on job openings discount the option of working for yourself, which is what holdenc suggested with his "Mop It Up" business.

soup10 14y ago

I don't know what the overall employment rate has to do with this. The article looks at the relative employment rate of people who have attended college vs those who haven't. People who have attended college should be more qualified for more jobs than those who haven't. They should be more employed, but they aren't. The simplest explanation(and the one that matches what I've seen/experienced) is that people who have more education are too picky about the jobs and careers they are willing to consider and are therefore finding it harder to get a job.

_delirium 14y ago
People who have attended college should be more qualified for more jobs than those who haven't. They should be more employed, but they aren't. In fact they are more employed, according to the article, if they actually graduated (as opposed to merely attending). The article gives, for people 25 and up, the following unemployment rates: Overall: 6.6% unemployed High school, no college: 7.7% unemployed Some college, no degree: 8% unemployed 2-year college degree: 6.2% unemployed 4-year college degree: 4% unemployed So clearly the two "have degree" categories have lower unemployment rates than the no-degree categories do. The article seems to want to conflate people who did and didn't graduate into one "attended college" category.
stch 14y ago
Why do you assume, a priori, someone with a college degree should be more qualified for a job than someone without one? If I was looking to hire someone for a low-skill ceiling job (cashier, janitor work, warehouse work, etc.), I would absolutely prefer someone with no college degree over someone with one -- they are probably cheaper, there's less theft risk (high school graduates tend to have far less debt), I don't have to worry about them jumping ship to a more relevant job a couple months after I finish training them, etc.