
Youth unemployment in Greece is about 48%. In the US, youths 18-24 have an unemployment rate of 45.7%. The highest rate since the government began tracking such information.
Squeezed
by a tight job market, young Americans are especially struggling. They
have suffered bigger income losses than other age groups and are less
likely to be employed than at any time since World War II.
An
analysis by the Pew Research Center, released Thursday, details the
impact of the recent recession on the attitudes of a generation of
mostly 20- and 30-somethings.
With
government data showing record gaps in employment between young and
old, a Pew survey found that 41 percent of Americans believe that
younger adults have been hit harder than any other group, compared with
29 percent who say middle-aged Americans and 24 percent who point to
seniors 65 and older. A wide majority of the public - at least 69
percent - also said it’s more difficult for today’s young adults
than their parents’ generation to pay for college, find a job, buy a
home or save for the future.
Among
young adults ages 18 to 34, only a third rated their financial
situation as “excellent” or “good,” compared with 54 percent for seniors
age 65 and over. In 2004, before the recession began, about half of
both young and older adults rated their own financial situation highly.
“Young workers are on the bottom of the ladder, and during a recession like we’ve had, it’s often hard for them to hold on.They are clearly less satisfied with their current circumstances than they were before the recession. This may be where some of the anger and frustration being expressed in the Occupy movement is rooted.They have a long way to climb back, and a lot of displaced workers to compete with.”
said
Kim Parker, associate director of Pew’s Social & Demographic Trends
project. She noted that some have been heavily involved in the
nationwide “Occupy” protests over economic disparity.
At
risk of becoming a “lost generation,” many young adults are going back
to school or scraping by on waitressing, bartending and odd jobs as they
wait for the economy to slowly recover.
For instance:
- The share of young adults 18-24 who are employed has dropped to 54.3 percent, the lowest level since the government began tracking such data in 1948.
- Young adults working full time have median weekly earnings of $448, about 6 percent less than in 2007
- About 19 percent of men ages 25-34 were idle in the weak job market, neither working nor attending school. That’s up from 14 percent in 2007.
- Fewer than half of young adults who are currently working say they have the education and skills necessary to advance in their careers.
Although
youth unemployment is at it’s highest, 43 percent said they were
extremely or very confident that they could find another job if they
lost or left their current one despite opposing statistics.
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