<p>You might be looking for U6, which measures the underemployed as well as the unemployed… “Total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force”</p>
<p>I’ve got a 2013 college graduate coming up. I had hoped that by this time in an economic recovery, we’d have recouped more jobs. But companies seem to be reluctant to hire, even though they are sitting on piles of cash and have repaired their balance sheets wonderfully over the past 4 years.</p>
<p>It’s really simple numbers. This economy is simply not creating enough jobs nor the number of jobs to keep up with the number of college graduates.</p>
<p>I recall the internet bubble days of the late 1990s. We hired graduates and paid them great salaries and signing bonuses. I was amazed at some of the vehicles that these new hires bought and sometimes even more amazed at what they chose for license plates. Those of us that had been around for several business cycles knew that there were good times and bad times and you saved up during the good times so that you were prepared for the bad times.</p>
<p>When the layoffs came a few years later, these young kids were panicked as they had loan obligations and were worried about what would happen if they lost their jobs. So they asked the old-timers as to what we thought. Fortunately for these kids, they worked in an area that was typically funded for 1.5 to 2 years and they just needed to do their jobs to weather the economic downturn.</p>
<p>As our two 2012 college graduates and their friends are unfortunately learning, the unemployment rate only skims the tip of the iceberg. Those numbers are for people who are eligible for unemployment-e.g. our 2 kids are still applying and interviewing for jobs. They are unemployed, as are almost all of their friends, but do not show up in any labor department statistics. As for nursing careers, the ACA will continue ( am health care consultant and former hospital adminisrator) to require hospitals to provide care for more acutely ill patients but for less $$. This trend began with TEFRA law passed in early 80’s and has accelerated. In health care, jobs that will grow will be those in “physician extender” roles-Nurse practitioners, physician’s assistants, etc. So, in essence I am not surprised by the post from the new nursing graduate. In the metro-Atlanta area several thousand teachers are without contracts and many will lose jobs because of budget constraints. DH is an attorney, and there is a glut of young attorneys still waiting to be brought into positions that were hired and postponed in late 08-09. I am afraid that many students and recent grads are in for a long haul of basement dwelling, stringing together part time jobs, etc. One idea is for graduates to look at relocating to the Dakotas where the economy is supposedly booming.</p>
<p>do want to hijack the thread but can’t resist asking…</p>
<p>Do you think Physician’s assistant would be a good career path for someone still in high school? DD is considering this route, but I am worried that by the time she becomes a PA, the field will be already saturated, same as recently happened with pharmacists. PA seems to be different from MD in that supply of MDs is limited by the number of residency spots.</p>
<p>Ok, the “unpaid internship” that required BS in engineering, 3 month unpaid with possibility of full time, nope. At least a response, this was it:</p>
<p>Thank you for your interest, although you do seem like a good fit, we had over 200 applicants, and at this time we are looking for someone 2 years + experience. Job was reposted again today.</p>
<p>Hold it - I missed that the job was reposted today! That is awful. And 2 yrs plus for an unpaid internship - terrible.</p>
<p>It seems to me that the same jobs keep popping up on the different job boards, over & over, and we all know they must have been filled after the first posting. On occasion S sees something on one of the job sites, goes to the company’s website (if the name is revealed) and it is no longer an open job. Very frustrating! There has to be a better way - other than relocating to the Dakotas that is! I just wish I knew what it was.</p>
<p>“Grad A received a degree in biology from MIT. She is the daughter of a relative”
-Most know that bio degree is completely useless unless one goes to:
Med. School. Most pre-meds are either Bio or some are Zoology majors (more rare) or some other science major.
-Graduate school
-plan to teach
-open to any other field. I kinow a person with Bio UG digree who is currently a CFO of small company, not too bad at all. I have no idea why he did not go to Med. School originally as he took MCAT. He was hired by some bus. consulting firm that eventually paid for his MBA and then when they had to move because of his W. new job, he found a nice job as CFO. He has 2 kids and does not complain about his original Bio degree at all, served him well.</p>
<p>thumper1,
you read very small portion of my post. Med. School was mentioned only in one of the options. I have listed 5, the last was actually “catch all” - clearly says "open to any other field. " I do not see how I could have provoked your reaction.</p>
<p>"People actively looking for employment are defined as unemployed in the official unemployment rate… "</p>
<p>-Incorrect. Only those who still receive unemployment benefits. At this point when bad economic conditions last that long, many do not qualify for benefits any more. Estimated actual unemployment is over 14%, while reported unemployemnt is 8.2%. Very huge gap, that is why we do not hear any bragging about economy any more. We know it is not true. Especially those of us who live in regions that have been economically depressed for very long time, those who consider Detroit as a great place to seek employment as it has more jobs than their hometown.</p>
<p>There are two main unemployment reports from the government. On Thursdays, first-time unemployment claims from the previous week are reported.</p>
<p>The other report is the employment report which comes out once a month and these are based on surveys. The headline unemployment number is based on people that are actively looking for work. The U6 numbers include discouraged workers and other categories.</p>
<p>After 2 unpaid internships, I told my daughter, enough is enough. She has since not had one, however, a lot of her friends like to keep that small hope that it will bear fruit. For some fields, one has to start at the bottom anyway, that’s the internship. Pay your dues and later move up.</p>
<p>I think that part of the attraction of the unpaid internship for those who already have a degree or two and even some experience, is that it fills up potential gaps in a resume that might seem odious to prospective employers, without incurring the expense of getting yet another degree or certificate. I have had more than one person tell me that their employers are receiving unsolicited resumes from both recent and not so recent grads who are seeking unpaid internships, just to keep carefully honed skills from getting rusty or out of date and to avoid any resume gaps.</p>
<p>What a nightmare, especially for those who need to pay off student loans!</p>
<p>Appearance absolutely matters. A lot! The company that finally gave our D an internship had conducted several phone interviews with her, and already had a personal recommendation for her from a company executive, but still brought her in for an in-person interview with the expressed purpose of “seeing what she looked like.” (as per the testimony of our contact in the company.) Since then, she has received multiple comments about her clothing and even her legs (inappropriate, of course). You don’t have to be a god or goddess, but you do need to look well put-together and wear clothes appropriate for the job and for you personally. Apparently, many young people don’t do this well, since at a previous job people also kept commenting about D’s nice clothes and how mature and together she looked. We are not wealthy and we shop at discount stores, but her clothes are clean, ironed, professional-looking, and flattering to her.</p>
<p>Appearance matters in places like NYC. In most other places it really does not matter. Facebook guy, anybody? Does he even owns a suit, I have my doubts. Appearance was important about 30 years ago. I would not advice going to interview in shorts, but anything outside of some kind of extreme might be OK for most. I held 9 jobs in very different industries over past 30 years, importance of appearance seems to diminish greatly. Nice clothes will not get you a job. But if one is heading to Wall Street, I gree, you better look very nice and expansive…</p>
<p>As for the weight issue, my friend runs a small company. Her lawyer advised her to never hire a seriously overweight person. From all his years of experience with small business owners, he could attest that they cost too much in missed work days, health care, and disability. (My friend disregarded his advice, by the way, and now regrets it.) I just wanted to put it out there the obvious that there are laws, but they can’t really stop deliberate discrimination based on appearance or weight.</p>
<p>PS. We live near NYC, so maybe it’s just here.</p>
<p>I am not sure it is entirely true. I work in the workplace with absolutely no dress code. I don’t dress up to come to work. However, I always notice if people who come to interview are not dressed well. We had a guy dressed up in a suit that was too big for him, a guy who wore polyester suit, a guy wearing mismatched pants and jacket, and the bigger-built guy wearing a very light colored suit that was too snug on him. And these were not people interviewing for entry level positions. The way they dressed absolutely played a part in my opinion in them.</p>