Did You Know That Only 41% of Millennials Have Full-Time Jobs?
by Tony Chavira
Disconcerting statistic in a report today from chapter 5 of the Pew Research Center article entitled Millenials: A Portrait of Generation Next. I put the key points in bold for the laziest amongst us:
A Pew Research Center survey in 2006 found that half of all 18- to 29-year-olds were employed in full-time jobs. Then came the Great Recession. In our 2010 survey, as a battered economy struggles to rebound, about four-in-ten (41%) people in the same age group say they are working full time—a decline of 9 percentage points. In contrast, about the same proportion of older adults reported working full time in both the 2006 and 2010 surveys.
Millennials are also more likely than older Americans to report they recently lost a job (10% vs. 6% for adults ages 30 or older). Even those Millennials who are working say times are tough. Among members of this generation who are employed full time or part time, less than a third (31%) say they earn enough money to lead the kind of lives they want. That judgment contrasts sharply with the majority of workers ages 46-64 who say they are satisfied with their current income (52%).
Then again, young people never think they have enough spending money. In a Pew Research Center survey conducted in 1997 during an economic boom, only three-in-ten adults ages 18 to 29 said they made enough to live their ideal life. In the arc of most people’s lives, income and earning power tend to be relatively low in one’s youth and to rise through middle age.
A lot of my laid off friends are reporting (or have already reported) that they're unemployed hoping that it's enough cash that it can hold them over until the next job. Although I completely get why they'd try it out, I'm not sure if it's such a smart idea though after reading this:
This is the same guy who sponsored a bill called the "Two Floods and You Are Out of the Taxpayers' Pocket Act of 2003" and allowed insurance companies to dump Hurricane Katrina victims before it hit. What. A. Douchebag.
A small note about a few things here:
First, great awareness post.
I know a number of unemployed people who have taken advantage of payouts and have decided to do nothing, because anything else will require effort, rejection, assertion, and the jump into the unknown. There is a deeper issue there, and I believe it’s the lack of personal momentum and the mentality of survival. I see homeless people in Harlem try harder than that.
I also know a number of people who quit their jobs, applied for unemployment, and got it. I quit my job and was unemployed for seven months only a short number of years ago and didn’t do that. Why? I brought my circumstances upon myself and thus believe it my responsibility to get myself out of them. Sometimes, the idea of responsibility is lacking or non-existant.
But I also know a number of unemployed people who fight. And fight. And the opportunities for them just aren’t there. I know unemployed people who have too much pride and have worked too hard to take a Level 1 job, when they deserve a level 3 (I was one of those). And it’s a matter of making the right move, and having a path to take once you make that move.
I know individuals who are currently working, but don’t quite know what path they are going to take - which would lead to increasing earning potential.
A better statistic would factor in those individuals who did not make preparations before graduating to land themselves an entry job - internships, networking, job fairs, school events, or just working retail. How many of these individuals were able to find a job out of college?
How many who were able just weren’t prepared?
How many dropped out of school, thinking work was their path instead of school?
How many are consultants?
How many are self-starters and own a business?
What percentage of these statistics do these individuals cover?
There’s a lot to factor in. The figures are daunting, but the focus should be much larger in that - the focus should be on how to get out of the basin and flip the statistics to the 18-29 advantage.
2010-03-1 by Mimi