Economic Labor Problems for the Young; The Problem Sweeping Europe and the United States

Know any recent college grads with great full time jobs outside of the technology field? What about those 20 something's scrapping by with a part time job or two? There are lots of those young adults across the globe. The recent recession in the United States has created a generation of over-educated and under-employed young adults. This same problem impacts not only the USA but across the Atlantic as well. Look at Spain, a country who worked hard for a generation to overcome the undereducated national status left over from the Francisco Franco regime. Spain increased its high school graduation rate from 50% in the 50 to 60 year olds to 86% today. After joining the European Union, Spain's commerce and educational systems exploded - birthing new universities and a growing network of start-up businesses. In the United States, the mantra of “everyone must attend college” has created the best educated population ever in this country. Accompanying the high level of college education is an equally elevated level of student loan debt. Combine that with the stagnant economic growth in the first decade of this generation and you have the perfect storm of young people unemployed or underemployed 20 to 30 year olds with limited prospects on the horizon. The United States and European debt crises catapulted this international generation of 20-plus year olds into a difficult job search market. A real consequence of coming of age in this time is the late start these young people will get on building their lifetime earnings and building their lives as adults. You can't buy a home without a secure job. It's tough to get married when your future job status is uncertain. In Spain, many of the well educated must look abroad for employment. Bloomberg Businessweek's April 2, 2012 article, “Spain's Lost Generation Looks Abroad,” profiles a young PhD researcher who had to relocate to France in order to find suitable work. Imagine having to leave your country of origin to find a job. Long Term Impact Your lifetime earnings directly impacts your ability to amass funds for all the requisite lifetime goals, including retirement. Recognize the lack of funds many 60 and 70 year olds today have for retirement. Many of these folks had a steady work history beginning in their 20s. Now flip that scenario over and consider what it will be like in retirement for those born in the 1980's and 1990's if they cannot secure well paying and consistent work. Add the highest levels of student loan debt to those sub par wages, and this generation is set up for a slow start on their financial lives. Internationally, the problems are similar. With stalled economies across Europe, the legions of recent graduates have nowhere to go. Spanish unemployment for those younger than 25 years old topped 40% last year. These high unemployment levels prevail across the Eurozone as well. This slow start to employment not only hurts the individuals, but collectively hurts their nations. We are losing the opportunity to benefit from the contributions these workers could be making to the growth and development of their nations. The international consequence of bright young people without jobs deprives the nations from benefitting from their ideas and contributions to the betterment of society. Solutions With increased levels of technology, and declining manufacturing jobs leading to an absence of managerial jobs in the manufacturing industry, we are in the midst of an international economic shift. The world populations are growing, but due to productivity increases, the quantity of available jobs is not keeping up. New companies, markets and employment opportunities need to be developed in order for today's young people to have the same opportunities for financial security that their predecessors did. The solutions are not forthcoming. There must be greater job growth in order to fulfill the needs of the current unemployed young adults. Let's hope that the growth of the educated classes will ultimately create more jobs and economic growth. What are your solutions for the high global unemployment?