From World Socialist Web Site: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/apr2012/pers-a24.shtml
Andre Damon
24 April 2012
Amid endless claims of economic recovery by the Obama administration and the media, the conditions facing the working class in the United States continue to deteriorate. This is seen nowhere more clearly than in the fate of young people, who confront a future of unemployment, low-paying jobs and perpetual debt.
The Associated Press reported Sunday that more than half (53.6 percent) of all four-year college graduates under 25 in the US are either unemployed or underemployed—that is, without a job or working at a job that does not require their degree. This is the highest percentage since records began being kept 11 years ago.
Of the 1.5 million people in this category, about half are unemployed and the other half are working for low wages at retail stores, coffee shops, restaurants, etc. The report also noted that only three of the 30 jobs with the largest projected number of openings in the next eight years will require a bachelor's degree or higher.
Overall youth unemployment in the US is over 23 percent, and after three years of official economic “recovery,” the rates of underemployment and unemployment for this group are still rising. The dire employment situation for young people is being used to pit them against older workers. In many cases, companies have laid off workers with decades of experience and replaced them with better-educated workers at half the pay.
The same students who cannot find decent-paying jobs that offer the prospect of economic security and advancement are saddled with huge college debts. The average student debt level topped $25,000 this year and the total amount surpassed $1 trillion.
Continue reading at: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/apr2012/pers-a24.shtml
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