Report: Jobless Rate 11.5 to 16.3 Percent Among Young People
By:
Updated: January 4, 2013
The jobless rate among 18 to 29 years could be as high as 16.3 percent, according to a new report by a non-partisan advocate group.
Generation Opportunity estimates the unemployment figure for Millennials for December 2012 was at 11.5 percent, however, it could be as high as 16.3 percent when factoring in those who have given up looking for work.
Angel McDaniel knows what it's like to spin her wheels trying to get a job but she isn't giving up.
"You know, I'm young, I'm going to school, I'm doing what everybody tells me to do but it's not what it used to be," McDaniel said.
The 21-year-old is a student at Arkansas State University. She's sent out 50 to 60 resumes but to no avail.
Her 20-year-old friend Ashley Halberson is struggling as well. Halberson, since Christmas, has sent out 123 resumes. She had to give up college and her apartment and move in with McDaniel's family to get by.
People who have a job should consider themselves fortunate, Halberson said.
"They should be a lot more grateful that they have a job and that they have the opportunity that they did," she said.
The high jobless rate is a sign of the times, said Mike Kirk, who heads up the University of Arkansas-Little Rock's Counseling and Career Planning Services Department.
Even though the economy has made these times an employer's market, some companies are reluctant to take on more employees out of uncertainty, he said.
As for young workers, Kirk recommends they polish their job interviewing skills and be willing to take lower-paying jobs that will get them into the workforce so that they can gain experience.
Generation Opportunity estimates the unemployment figure for Millennials for December 2012 was at 11.5 percent, however, it could be as high as 16.3 percent when factoring in those who have given up looking for work.
Angel McDaniel knows what it's like to spin her wheels trying to get a job but she isn't giving up.
"You know, I'm young, I'm going to school, I'm doing what everybody tells me to do but it's not what it used to be," McDaniel said.
The 21-year-old is a student at Arkansas State University. She's sent out 50 to 60 resumes but to no avail.
Her 20-year-old friend Ashley Halberson is struggling as well. Halberson, since Christmas, has sent out 123 resumes. She had to give up college and her apartment and move in with McDaniel's family to get by.
People who have a job should consider themselves fortunate, Halberson said.
"They should be a lot more grateful that they have a job and that they have the opportunity that they did," she said.
The high jobless rate is a sign of the times, said Mike Kirk, who heads up the University of Arkansas-Little Rock's Counseling and Career Planning Services Department.
Even though the economy has made these times an employer's market, some companies are reluctant to take on more employees out of uncertainty, he said.
As for young workers, Kirk recommends they polish their job interviewing skills and be willing to take lower-paying jobs that will get them into the workforce so that they can gain experience.
Comments
Seriously? They think it's their age? Have they looked in the mirror? Maybe it's the hardware hanging from their faces. As a business owner, I would never hire someone who looked like they tripped and fell face first into a tackle box.
Cindy S.
January 4, 2013 at 9:39 pm
