Young Americans no jobs forced to live with parents

[Death2Theft]

Whats scary is that they dont have the crazy lowermainland style costs of living and they still can't move out. Most of these guys can't even afford 500$ rent.
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/a...th-mom-and-dad
In the United States today, unemployment among those age 18 to age 34 is at epidemic levels and the number of young adults that are now living at home with Mom and Dad is at an all-time high. So why are so many of our young adults jobless? Why are record numbers of them unable or unwilling to move out on their own? Well, there are quite a few factors at work. Number one, our education system has completely and totally failed them. As I have written about previously, our education system is a joke and most high school graduates these days are simply not prepared to function at even a very basic level in our society. In addition, college education in the United States has become a giant money making scam that leaves scores of college graduates absolutely drowning in debt. Many young adults end up moving back in with Mom and Dad because they are drowning in so much debt that there are no other options. Thirdly, the number of good jobs continues to decline and this is hitting younger Americans the hardest. Millions of young people enter the workforce excited about the future only to find that there are hordes of applicants for the very limited number of decent jobs that are actually available. So all of this is creating an environment where more young adults are financially dependent on their parents that ever before in modern American history.

Since the start of the recession, the percentage of young adults in America that are employed has dropped like a rock. In 2007, the employment rate for Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 was 62.4 percent. Today, it is down to 54.3 percent.

Yes, there are certainly many out there that are lazy, but the truth is that most of them would like to work if they could. It is just that it is much harder to find a job these days.

And it isn't just young people that think that the job market has gotten tougher. According to one recent survey, 82 percent of all Americans believe that it is harder for young adults to find jobs today than it was for their parents to find jobs.

But if they cannot get jobs, then young adults cannot financially support themselves. So more of them than ever are heading back home to live with Mom and Dad.

In the year 2000, 8.3 percent of all American women between the ages of 25 and 34 were living at home with their parents. Today, that figure is up to 9.7 percent.

In the year 2000, 12.9 percent of all American men between the ages of 25 and 34 were living at home with their parents. Today, that figure is up to an astounding 18.6 percent.

Take a moment and let those statistics sink in.

Nearly one out of every five American men from age 25 to age 34 are living at home with Mommy and Daddy.

When you look at Americans age 18 to age 24, it is even worse. Among Americans age 18 to age 24, 50 percent of all women and 59 percent of all men still live with their parents.

Those are very frightening numbers.

Part of this has to do with a fundamental cultural shift. An increasing number of parents these days expect that they will have to take care of their own children beyond the age of 22. The following is from a recent article by Pew Research....

When asked in a 1993 survey what age children should be financially independent from their parents, 80% of parents said children have to be self-reliant by age 22. In the current survey, only 67% of parents say children have to be financially independent by age 22—a drop of 13 percentage points.
But what accounts for the tremendous gender disparity that we see in the figures above?

Well, one major factor is that young women are now far more likely to pursue a college education than young men are. According to an article in the New York Times, women now account for approximately 57 percent of all enrollments at U.S. colleges and universities.

The less education you have, the more likely you are to be unemployed in America today. So that is certainly a significant factor.

But many that have gone on to college are also moving back home. When you are a young adult with no job and no prospects and you are swamped with tens of thousands of dollars of student loan debt, it can be incredibly difficult to be financially independent.

After adjusting for inflation, U.S. college students are now borrowing about twice as much money as they did a decade ago. Many students that go on to graduate school end up with more than $100,000 in total student loan debt.

Sadly, those degrees often do not pay off. In fact, in America today one-third of all college graduates end up taking jobs that don't even require college degrees.

So what does all of this mean?

It means that there are millions upon millions of angry, disillusioned and frustrated young adults out there today. A recent USA Today article told the story of 32-year-old Dennis Hansen....

After a year without work, Hansen, 32, was hired to monitor Lake Michigan and Lake Superior water for the state and federal governments over two summers. He also had short stints as a census worker and as an extra post office hand during one holiday crush.

It hasn't been enough: Hansen says he has a $13,000 credit card debt and that's just for basics — his $600 monthly mortgage, heat and food.

"It's definitely a roller coaster," Hansen says, with the ups coming when he's done well in a job interview and the downs when there's a rejection: "That's when I'm frustrated, angry and wondering why I went to college for 10 years."
If the economy was humming along on all cylinders, it would be easy to blame our young adults for being too lazy.

But these days most young adults have to scramble like crazy just to get a really low paying job. Large numbers of very talented young adults are waiting tables, flipping burgers or stocking shelves at Wal-Mart.

And this reality is reflected in the overall economic statistics. Since the year 2000, incomes for U.S. households led by someone between the ages of 25 and 34 have fallen by about 12 percent after you adjust for inflation.

The "wealth gap" between younger Americans and older Americans is also growing and recently hit a new all-time high. U.S. households led by someone 65 years of age or older are now 47 times wealthier than U.S. households led by someone 35 years of age or younger.

But this is not good for our society. When there is civil unrest, it is not those 65 and older that take to the streets.

We desperately need our economy to get healthy again so that our young adults can get good jobs, get married, set up households, raise families and be productive members of society.

Instead, the percentage of young adults that have jobs is near an all-time low, the percentage of young adults living with their parents is at an all-time high, the proportion of adults in the United States that are married is at an all-time low and we have hordes of angry, frustrated young adults with plenty of time on their hands.

You don't have to be a genius to see trouble on the horizon.

What is going to happen when the next major financial crisis comes and the economy gets significantly worse than it is now?

In the end, we are going to reap what we have sown. We have fundamentally failed our young adults, and those failures are going to produce some very bitter fruit.

[Gh0stRider]

geez $13k debt

[twitchyzero]

it's not fair to compare them to young adults in Vancouver despite higher cost of living here.

1. tuition is much higher than their Canadian counterpart
2. as a much larger consumer-based society....they generally got a bigger blow from the economic recession

[Ronin]

It's really not that bad in Canada. Not a whole lot changed up here while the States imploded.

[taylor192]

Originally Posted by twitchyzero

it's not fair to compare them to young adults in Vancouver despite higher cost of living here.

1. tuition is much higher than their Canadian counterpart
2. as a much larger consumer-based society....they generally got a bigger blow from the economic recession

1. Is a myth. If you stay in state, tuition in the US isn't that bad. Its only the big name schools that people go out of state to attend where it costs a small fortune.
2. Is incorrect. Our economy is just as consumer driven as our neighbours to the south.

Originally Posted by Ronin

It's really not that bad in Canada. Not a whole lot changed up here while the States imploded.

Australia said the same thing, yet they are currently starting to implode cause consumer debt hit record levels along with house prices - while unemployment never recovered from the global recession.

Its not that bad in Canada, yet.

[sh0n]

It's the same in Vancouver but on a larger scale.

Last I saw, housing is not cheap!!!

[twitchyzero]

Originally Posted by taylor192

1. Is a myth. If you stay in state, tuition in the US isn't that bad. Its only the big name schools that people go out of state to attend where it costs a small fortune.
2. Is incorrect. Our economy is just as consumer driven as our neighbours to the south.

do you know where I can find the stats showing how many students stay in state?

I think even if you take our smaller population into account, we still are not as consumer-heavy as our American friends. The price-gouging happens for a reason.

[taylor192]

Originally Posted by twitchyzero

do you know where I can find the stats showing how many students stay in state?

Nope, yet I anticipate its quite high as the cost of tuition can double or more going out of state.

Originally Posted by twitchyzero

I think even if you take our smaller population into account, we still are not as consumer-heavy as our American friends. The price-gouging happens for a reason.

I don't think, I know.

Both economies are ~70% consumer driven. If consumers stop spending, we're fucked.

The American economy imploded when debt/income ratios reached a tipping point. Americans could nolonger afford to buy more crap on credit and pulled back, and the 70% of their economy dependent on consumer spending too a massive hit. Our debt/income ratios didn't rise as fast, yet are now pushing against those limits.

Mortgage brokers are already cutting into their own commissions to buy lower rates for customers, cause they know buyers are drying up as people don't has as much to spend.

[drunkrussian]

this makes me so sad. this is the reason why i never agreed with students here protesting tuition costs...we have it so goddamn good compared to americans and international students. When useful educated individuals can't find work and wait tables that really breaks my heart

studentscould have a strict spending poilcy, attend school in-state, and live at home while going to school...but it's their culture that's the problem. They have a culture of borrowed money - their parents pay for everything and live on borrowed money. So when it comes to expensive schooling loans are the only option, as the parents are in debt, and the students spend what little money they do have from working, on toys. They also go to school out of state, and live in rez, because they need to "experience" college. Many canadians, or at least vancouverites, go to school that's closest from their parents house, where they live.

But with this competitive market in the us, is going to a local shitty community school and living at home going to get you even a chance at a job? With the already competitive market, do you need to spend ridiculous money on a high-end school, to even have a shot at not being a janitor? The cyclical nature of this is the saddest part - you need to incur debt on college to even have a shot at a job which you'll spend paying it off. Going to a community college just means less debt, and no shot at paying it off.

[Death2Theft]

You mean aside from our household debt/income level climbing to almost higher than the US?

Originally Posted by Ronin

It's really not that bad in Canada. Not a whole lot changed up here while the States imploded.

[Armind]

I'm a victim. FML man.

[Liquid_o2]

I think one the problems a lot of students have is that they decide to do 5-10 years of school but don't gain much work experience during that time. Then when they are done school finally, they come into the workforce and expect to be handed a 50k job within their field which is false for many industries.

I finished my BA, worked in the field for 3.5 years and then went back to grad school. I feel I will have a much better chance when I graduate due to the fact I have a good education PLUS real world experience, multiple internships, etc.

[quasi]

It's all about networking. My dad always told me it was who you know not what you know but I kind of thought it was BS. I then got laid off and thought no problem I'll take some time off and then find something when I'm ready, I had a hell of a time finding a job mind you I was trying to find work doing something different then what I had been doing.

After months and months of some interview that didn't pan out and no good leads I called up someone I knew who was in the same industry I had left. Long story short I have a job right away doing something different but in the same industry. When I think about my friends almost everyone of them knew someone where they are employed now.

An education is a great addition to your resume but it alone isn't enough most the time unless you're doing something very technical or you know somebody who can help you get your foot in the door. Experience and a good network will trump an education almost everytime.

[Gridlock]

I alternate between 2 things with student loans.

I know that the year after I graduated, I signed up to go to business school. I was hearded through a line like sheep to sign up for a fat check to pay for the whole thing. I had no idea what the payment terms were, interest or anything. Stand in this line to pay your rent.

Ok.

So I get how it happens.

BUT...you can't blame anyone but yourself.

My favorite thing when I talk to a student is, after they tell me they go to xyz taking abc is "what do you want to do?"

Umm...I dunno.

does "umm...I dunno" pay well? They have good work hours at "umm I dunno"?

and the key question...how much debt are you willing to go into to work at "I dunno"?

When I finally went back to school I at least knew what I wanted to do at that time. I worked in the field, and then questioned myself everyday on "you went, and paid money and sacrificed making money, for THIS."

I get that there are people that figure it out and come up with something on graduation. I guess the key question is: are you one of those people?

[taylor192]

Originally Posted by Liquid_o2

I think one the problems a lot of students have is that they decide to do 5-10 years of school but don't gain much work experience during that time. Then when they are done school finally, they come into the workforce and expect to be handed a 50k job within their field which is false for many industries.

Why wouldn't they? That's what they have been told.

Why would anyone pay $10K/yr (tuition + books + expenses) to attend school without expecting a return on that investment day 1 when graduating? If people knew the actually return on their investment, post secondary enrolment rates would drop - yet instead people continue to preach the same lies that post secondary education is the path to riches.

[optiblue]

Originally Posted by taylor192

Why wouldn't they? That's what they have been told.

Why would anyone pay $10K/yr (tuition + books + expenses) to attend school without expecting a return on that investment day 1 when graduating? If people knew the actually return on their investment, post secondary enrolment rates would drop - yet instead people continue to preach the same lies that post secondary education is the path to riches.

Right on the money! I have friends who finished engineering degrees which they went into only because they did their hw and that field at the time had jobs while regular sciences = mall jobs. They've graduated from coop and have been waiting for something, but there's too many local grads! Pushing almost 2 years now Vancouer will soon hit that saturation point for many industries.
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[twitchyzero]

Originally Posted by optiblue

Vancouer will soon hit that saturation point for many industries.

as if that has not happened yet

[quasi]

Originally Posted by optiblue

Right on the money! I have friends who finished engineering degrees which they went into only because they did their hw and that field at the time had jobs while regular sciences = mall jobs. They've graduated from coop and have been waiting for something, but there's too many local grads! Pushing almost 2 years now Vancouer will soon hit that saturation point for many industries.
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I'd believe it, lots of structural engineers in Construction working for peanuts in entry level estimating jobs because they couldn't find anything else.

[unit]

thats sad, but its what people are forcefed by their parents and schools to do.
usually kids dont figure out what they really WANT to do until they're in their 20s.
by then they've already wasted 2-3 years minimum of irrelevant studies.
and in many cases its more like 5-10 years wasted or even more.

how the hell are you supposed to know what you want to do by the time you're 17 if you dont even truly know whats out there?
universities are made for cookie cutter careers. they just want your tuition money and they'll push you out the door.

[Mr.HappySilp]

It also depends on the degree and where u went to post secondary education.

I mean do you think you will actually get a decent job when you graduate form Coquitlam college or Sprott Shaw College? Get a post secondary education from an actually college first...........

Also do people actually expect to get a job when they took something like General Arts O_o? Take something useful.

Another issue is there are too many people going for the same job. Back with our parents there is like maybe 4 to 5 people going for 1job or less, now you have maybe 100+ people going for 1 job so yea getting a job is much much harder now.

Most people who have jobs are going to hold onto it till they can't work anymore due to the economy so if no one is leaving their position then less jobs out there. Is hard to find another job unless you got connections or lot's of work experience these days. Companies is also cutting back and rather then hiring a full time they chose to do contracts or part time to save cost.

It is happening in Canada lol. For those that disagree you are a fool. Is only going to get worse and worse. All I can say is spend less, save up your money and invest it.

[GabAlmighty]

Bunch of whiners.

Originally Posted by Gh0stRider

geez $13k debt

Lol, is that a lot or something?

[ilovebacon]

Originally Posted by GabAlmighty

Bunch of whiners.



Lol, is that a lot or something?

That's a lot to people who works min wages. Not Everyone is ballin like you.
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[GabAlmighty]

Originally Posted by ilovebacon

That's a lot to people who works min wages. Not Everyone is ballin like you.
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I work min wage... Oh no wait, I worked hard and got a job that's above min wage.

[Mr.HappySilp]

Originally Posted by GabAlmighty

I work min wage... Oh no wait, I worked hard and got a job that's above min wage.

LOL do u happen to make $14 dallar! :IDL :IDL :IDL

[GabAlmighty]

Originally Posted by Mr.HappySilp

LOL do u happen to make $14 dallar! :IDL :IDL :IDL

No...