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The global youth unemployment crisis


Henny

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Someone on this site said (I'm sorry I cannot quote you specifically because of lack of note-taking) that globally 'there are more people than available jobs'. This is the crux of the issue regarding youth, and other age-bracket unemployment. Governments try to have it both ways, in that they want indiscrimnate reproduction while espousing a continuing supply of new goods in the marketplace.

Maybe what needs to happen is that we go back to the time when children/youth/students didn't have to work. They were assisted by family until such time as there was an 'entry-level' position available for the accepting, and careers began from that point. Students should not have to work!! It is difficult enough to learn and study, without juggling time for jobs and sleep. Parents need to 'man-up', and the youth need to be less needy in the way of material goods - purchasing all the latest gadgets that glitter before their eyes.

Anarchy-speak - maybe; but it offers a permanent solution.

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I have a modest suggestion: cook the young people, and feed them to the hungry people. Then move the homeless people into the young peoples' homes. Solves three problems - youth unemployment, hunger and homelessness.

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Someone on this site said (I'm sorry I cannot quote you specifically because of lack of note-taking) that globally 'there are more people than available jobs'. This is the crux of the issue regarding youth, and other age-bracket unemployment. Governments try to have it both ways, in that they want indiscrimnate reproduction while espousing a continuing supply of new goods in the marketplace.

Maybe what needs to happen is that we go back to the time when children/youth/students didn't have to work. They were assisted by family until such time as there was an 'entry-level' position available for the accepting, and careers began from that point. Students should not have to work!! It is difficult enough to learn and study, without juggling time for jobs and sleep. Parents need to 'man-up', and the youth need to be less needy in the way of material goods - purchasing all the latest gadgets that glitter before their eyes.

Anarchy-speak - maybe; but it offers a permanent solution.

In many cases things would have to change in order to make something like this feasible. Speaking of students working specifically, in many countries it is extremely expensive to go to school and the only reason its possible for some is because they are able to work. I know I fell into this category when I was a student.

Second, I'm not sure that expecting parents to take care of their adult children is fair either to the parents or to the youth. Not all parents have the excess cash lying around to take care of their adult children, for one thing. While this might be feasible for more well off parents, it certainly isn't for those who are poor.

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Second, I'm not sure that expecting parents to take care of their adult children is fair either to the parents or to the youth. Not all parents have the excess cash lying around to take care of their adult children, for one thing. While this might be feasible for more well off parents, it certainly isn't for those who are poor.

Well, it's not unfair to expect people to take care of the lives they create whenever they bloody well please to do so.

As for the youth, there's nothing fair in being born to begin with... I'm not sure exactly when it gets "fair" with that setup.

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Someone on this site said (I'm sorry I cannot quote you specifically because of lack of note-taking) that globally 'there are more people than available jobs'. This is the crux of the issue regarding youth, and other age-bracket unemployment. Governments try to have it both ways, in that they want indiscrimnate reproduction while espousing a continuing supply of new goods in the marketplace.

Maybe what needs to happen is that we go back to the time when children/youth/students didn't have to work. They were assisted by family until such time as there was an 'entry-level' position available for the accepting, and careers began from that point. Students should not have to work!! It is difficult enough to learn and study, without juggling time for jobs and sleep. Parents need to 'man-up', and the youth need to be less needy in the way of material goods - purchasing all the latest gadgets that glitter before their eyes.

Anarchy-speak - maybe; but it offers a permanent solution.

You are correct in saying that other things have to change. Perhaps, start with free & compulsory education on a global scale. It worked in Lemuria for a good while; why not again?

The post by "alucard", is quite succinct.

runester

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I fit into this category... I'm unemployed because I don't really want to work; school leaves me with too little time to do all the hobbies I'd like to in a day (including learning about anything I'm curious about, including new languages. Not only that, as much as I know it's necessary, I have no reason to work, and I'm just a little tired of how society tries to push me into a job, even though I barely have enough time as it is. I haven't had any jobs yet, and I'm 15.

I know it's selfish, but I just haven't gotten around to getting a job... I haven't even gotten around to getting my learners license, because I have no motivation to start studying.

I just figured I'd contribute my situation to allow you a better understanding of why that demographic is there.

P.S.

I care very little about money, I don't really need much, because I have everything I need provided. I have $260 of money saved up, and that's 3 or 4 years of gift money from my birthdays and christmas. I still can't think of much that's worthwhile to spend it on, because I don't even bother to keep up with clothing trends. I buy the occasional video game, and that's about it.

We live in a small town, but there's still employment opportunities, but I haven't really had reason to get off my lazy butt and try applying, especially given how much I try to self-learn.

I don't plan to live at home, but I can't see myself getting anywhere in life either.

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I fit into this category... I'm unemployed because I don't really want to work; school leaves me with too little time to do all the hobbies I'd like to in a day (including learning about anything I'm curious about, including new languages. Not only that, as much as I know it's necessary, I have no reason to work, and I'm just a little tired of how society tries to push me into a job, even though I barely have enough time as it is. I haven't had any jobs yet, and I'm 15.

I know it's selfish, but I just haven't gotten around to getting a job... I haven't even gotten around to getting my learners license, because I have no motivation to start studying.

I just figured I'd contribute my situation to allow you a better understanding of why that demographic is there.

P.S.

I care very little about money, I don't really need much, because I have everything I need provided. I have $260 of money saved up, and that's 3 or 4 years of gift money from my birthdays and christmas. I still can't think of much that's worthwhile to spend it on, because I don't even bother to keep up with clothing trends. I buy the occasional video game, and that's about it.

We live in a small town, but there's still employment opportunities, but I haven't really had reason to get off my lazy butt and try applying, especially given how much I try to self-learn.

I don't plan to live at home, but I can't see myself getting anywhere in life either.

I don't think that as a 15yr old, you really _should_ worry about having a job.

However, like you, I didn't want a car or think it was really necessary in my life until I GOT one. Now, I couldn't live without it. So, even though I hate when people tell me this, "don't knock it until you try it" :3

On the subject of being too snooty for a job at McDonalds...

I suppose I am. But here is my justification:

1) I have a family that is willing to let me live with them while I look for a job.

2) I do not have any debt, boyfriends, or children that I absolutely need to support.

3) There are at least 5k high school students and even more early university/community college students in the 3 campuses that are near my town who are better qualified for such positions (whom I would be competing with for any low-level job around here.)

4) I spent 5 yrs getting a degree in a field I thought would be useful in my town (Technical writing) only to have the economy tank in 08/09, just after I graduated from Uni.

5) I have NO experience in fast food. I had a retail job when I was in HS, but my grades began to suffer due to my distraction and I quit to focus more on school, betting that better grades in school would get me a better job after. (lololololololl)

6) I DID apply for Christmas temp work and was told they'd already hired for the season. If jobs exist, they're snapped up too quickly for me to do anything about it.

So maybe I'm not applying to every fast food opening there is, but I'm also not starving right now. There are people who are, who are ALSO qualified for those positions whereas I am not. (No experience, and over educated)

However, in the US, the last score on unemployment I saw was 16%. That's probably _still_ not including the people who are underemployed, or not looking, or not formally registered with the unemployment office.

What's the bloody POINT of getting a degree if the only job you can get STILL is flipping burgers? WHY BOTHER?

It makes me mad.

And what else makes me mad are the people who have _never_ had to suffer unemployment who get a high and mighty attitude and tell those of us who ARE unemployed that we're not TRYING hard enough. There ARE factors involved that are completely out of our hands. Especially when around where I live, it's NOT whether you know how to do the job or not, or whether you can work hard, but its WHO YOU KNOW. This town is run by a network of good-ol-boys and plagued with a complete LACK of things for young adults to do if you're not into clubbing or drinking/smoking. So its who your PARENTS know. Thus, if you moved into town somewhat recently and your parents aren't into the whole socialite networking BS, you're boned. (hooray for the south)

My experience with job hunting has been that all the companies want online applications, which usually results in absolute silence. Not even the courtesy of an automated message telling you your app was received. Like screaming into space. Hanging out at these businesses just to be seen will get me arrested by the military for suspected terrorism. That approach doesn't work when you're trying to apply to government contractors.

In my town specifically, they have a tendency to merely post jobs they have NO intention of filling to farm resumes - so government contractors can pad their portfolios when they apply for grants to do government work. Additionally, all the jobs in my field are asking for _engineering_ degrees (as if engineers wanted to do writing. ha. But the engineers are just as out of work as I am and will probably take what they can get). Or, if they do hire a person, it's usually a crap admin assistant job that they made up in the last month of the fiscal year so they can use the last of their budget (In government, if they don't USE the money they get this year, they'll get less next year). Leading to a string of jobs that only last for a month on your resume. That's real reassuring to any future employers, regardless of whether it was YOUR fault you got laid off or not. On top of that, the government has gone into a hiring freeze, so no one new coming in, and they're enticing older employees to retire early with huge bonuses. A huge program that was supposed to move a bunch of people down here from other places didn't happen because the whole program got cut/budget slashed, and the housing market crashed so no one up north could sell their houses and move anyway, along with a bunch of other programs getting their budgets slashed (such as NASA), and that leads to lots of extremely qualified people for the jobs available being out of work. So I'm competing against them for jobs when I've get to get any solid experience in my field. Oh, AND the fact that back last year when congress couldn't decide on a budget, EVERYTHING shut down here for several weeks at a time, because they _couldn't_ pay anyone. My town was in danger of being shut down entirely because of that. The WHOLE city. Shut down. Because the government almost decided to not fund these programs. So government work isn't as stable as it used to be.

Now, is it still my fault that I have no experience in flipping burgers because I'm over educated, and can't get a job in my field because the /government/ isn't hiring either?

In short, this leaves me wracked with doubt about whether I'm _capable_ of being productively employed, leading to depression, which then results in a "why bother" attitude. I try to fight it, but when I feel like I already know the answer... why bother getting out of bed?

I'm still applying to stuff. And applying to things outside of my field, in the hopes that they'll decide that I can be trained for the job. (I have an interview today, as a matter of fact. Trying not to freak...) But I've never had high self esteem, and it's difficult to pretend cheerfulness when I'm trembling in my boots about to cry because someone glared at me. I'm working on these things. (Don't tell me I'm being over sensative. go frak yourself. Your words do NOT help me build confidence.) This isn't the type of thing that's taught in schools, and those who don't need it are the ones who get the positive reinforcement.

tl;dr

I think blaming the unemployed for their unemployed status is a gross generalization that sells short many of those who ARE trying and just have everything stacked against them.

I'm sure some are flat being lazy, but to say that ALL unemployed people who don't go for min wage jobs are losers only shows how prideful YOU are. What's next? Telling people who're unemployed that they should resort to prostitution? "At least it pays. You'll get a hotel room and a bed for an hour. Maybe. If your client doesn't want to just do it in the nearest alley." If we _don't_ have pride and determination to go for the best job we can, then we will _forever_ be stuck with whatever job we managed to get during the recession, because it's the only thing we have experience in.

and omg. I'm so sorry if this came off as whining... I didn't mean for it to, but I got mad at the people implying that I'm lazy because I don't want to flip burgers and think that I'm worth more than that.

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@Monahan

If something does not exist, you can not be held responsible or feel guilty for its non-existence. The lack of youth employment is hardly the result of you mismanaging the economy; particularly when you have not had a single chance to productively or financially contribute to it.

There are people who have no understanding of your dire situation. Does their opinion have any validity because they lack the foresight and intelligence to empathise your situation?

Personally, if I was in your situation, I would actively feel ostracised and worthless. Maybe if I accepted feeling this way was a direct result of the older minority mismanaging the economy, coupled with the majority who did nothing because they had a comfy position and could not care less about anyone else but themselves, I could actively contribute to the collapse of a pathetic financial system. Perhaps when the older generation are faced with my dilemma, they would be more understanding about my situation.

I would, of course, advise you to disregard the opinion of idiots (like me).

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  • 3 weeks later...

I don't understand the issues here.

I have never made the best decisions in life--I had a good job in radio, and gave it up to go to a third rate ex-poly to study the field I was working in. Then, a couple of years later, I was disillusioned with university and the chance of a job with a new start-up radio station came up. The station was launched and promptly tanked within a few months (this was right at the start of the recession), leaving me jobless. I was unemployed for six months and then found a job with *another* radio station in 2009, and worked there until I was laid off in December.

I've just started another job, still sort of in radio, but working in the IT background side of things rather than on-air, moved away from home for it. It's not the best paid job in the world, it's quite a bit below average pay, but I'm sitting here in a quiet rented two bedroom end terrace in a safe, pretty little town in Yorkshire, I'm warm and cosy, eat well every day, I've got 40Mb broadband, a TV licence, and enough money left over at the end of the month for a few little treats, clothes, wine, maybe a weekend away. My only major concession is that I gave up driving to move out of my parents, but I live next to a railway station and have a season ticket, so that negates it somewhat. I can get to the mall, or into the city, or into the next town, quickly and easily and free of any extra cost. When I want to go somewhere off the railway, I rent a small car.

I appreciate it's not easy to get a job these days--I was pretty flabbergasted when I got offered the one I have now. I mean, I'm not A-team material, I've got no degree, my only experience is in radio, which is hardly a growth industry these days, rather than IT. But I struggle to understand sometimes how it's so hard for a lot of people to move out of their parents' house, unless perhaps they live in London. I think there's a great disparity between the wealth levels and living standards of older and younger people, certainly in this country, and rents are way too high, I pay about 40% of my wages in rent.

But I guess my point is that it can be done, if you work at it, choose the areas you want to live and work in carefully (I couldn't have moved out of my parents' and stayed in Cheshire) and manage your cash carefully (no £50 a month iPhones on two year lock-ins etc). It's all about managing expectations and not taking any notice of doom-talk from those who have much to gain from the rest of us being terrified.

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I've just started another job, still sort of in radio, but working in the IT background side of things rather than on-air, moved away from home for it. It's not the best paid job in the world, it's quite a bit below average pay, but I'm sitting here in a quiet rented two bedroom end terrace in a safe, pretty little town in Yorkshire, I'm warm and cosy, eat well every day, I've got 40Mb broadband, a TV licence, and enough money left over at the end of the month for a few little treats, clothes, wine, maybe a weekend away. My only major concession is that I gave up driving to move out of my parents, but I live next to a railway station and have a season ticket, so that negates it somewhat. I can get to the mall, or into the city, or into the next town, quickly and easily and free of any extra cost. When I want to go somewhere off the railway, I rent a small car.

One difference between Europe and North America: Small towns here don't have public transit. You have to own a car if you want to live in one. There are also quite a few jobs for which you need to own a car, including low-paying ones like house cleaning and landscaping.

But all that has nothing to do with getting a job in the first place.

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Someone mentioned having a well presented CV. This is really important. From talking to people in the HR business, if there are a lot of applicants for a job then one of the first ways to whittle down the numbers is to go through the pile of CVs and put any poorly presented ones straight in the bin, WITHOUT EVEN READING THEM.

So if you're sending in a CV, make sure it's well laid out, without any unnecessary frilly bits such as a weird font, with correct spelling and grammar, and add a similarly well presented covering letter. Get someone who knows how to spell to check it for you. Spellcheck won't catch things like there/their/they're being used incorrectly. If you're handing it over in person, make sure you are tidily and appropriately dressed. First impressions really do count.

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Maybe what needs to happen is that we go back to the time when children/youth/students didn't have to work. They were assisted by family until such time as there was an 'entry-level' position available for the accepting, and careers began from that point. Students should not have to work!! It is difficult enough to learn and study, without juggling time for jobs and sleep.

We just got an announcement at college from a company looking for someone to work part time for free. They want at least 12 hours a week. That's a lot to ask for free - Many students are disappointed because they already have part-time jobs and don't have 12 hours to spare. But more and more students are doing work for free because it's the only way to get experience.

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Chrysanthalis

Oh, crap, I'm not gonna be able to get a job am I? :ph34r: Time to move to space.

I honestly think that this is a sign that the underlying system (ie capitalism) is flawed. I'm no economist though, so feel free to prove me wrong. :rolleyes:

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Someone on this site said (I'm sorry I cannot quote you specifically because of lack of note-taking) that globally 'there are more people than available jobs'. This is the crux of the issue regarding youth, and other age-bracket unemployment.

That's the crux of all unemployment now. Corporations need less labor in developed countries because they've outsourced to poor countries with cheap labor, and they've also robot-ized their factories.

I don't know what the solution is. I don't think there is any solution because the corporation executives are quite happy, and they have the power.

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I live in a town where you can literally walk in almost anywhere and get a job. They are almost falling from the sky. My brother for example, got fired and within thirty minutes had another job. Where I work, so are really understaffed. My sister on the other hand, 19 yrs old, spent months and months looking for a job, unsuccessfully, and still is unemployed...why? Because she is one of these entitled youths who thinks that she is above working in restaraunts, fast food, etc. she wants a good paying job handed to her...did I mention she dropped out of high school?

It's something I notice a lot where I live. There are a lot of uneducated kids who don't finish high school, yet feel this sense of entitlement and think that they "deserve" a great job right away. I live in a city that centers around the oil field and so these kids grow up thinking it all comes so easy, many of which take the short and quick way out and head to the oil field. This tends to leave businesses lacking, hence why everywhere is short handed and always hiring.

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I live in a town where you can literally walk in almost anywhere and get a job. They are almost falling from the sky. My brother for example, got fired and within thirty minutes had another job. Where I work, so are really understaffed. My sister on the other hand, 19 yrs old, spent months and months looking for a job, unsuccessfully, and still is unemployed...why? Because she is one of these entitled youths who thinks that she is above working in restaraunts, fast food, etc. she wants a good paying job handed to her...did I mention she dropped out of high school?

It's something I notice a lot where I live. There are a lot of uneducated kids who don't finish high school, yet feel this sense of entitlement and think that they "deserve" a great job right away. I live in a city that centers around the oil field and so these kids grow up thinking it all comes so easy, many of which take the short and quick way out and head to the oil field. This tends to leave businesses lacking, hence why everywhere is short handed and always hiring.

This is an argument that I don't always buy. Sometimes it isn't about any sense of entitlement or any sense of being above working a minimum wage job. Sometimes its a matter of the fact that, in many places, minimum wage isn't the same as living wage. Someone with a minimum wage, for example, might not be able to pay for rent, food and the other necessities of life. Is it fair to expect such people to take the first part time minimum wage that comes around, knowing full well it doesn't provide nearly enough to actually live on, simply because its, well, something at least. In such cases, sometimes time is better spent actually looking for a decent job that will actually pay a living wage.

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Chrysanthalis

I live in a town where you can literally walk in almost anywhere and get a job. They are almost falling from the sky. My brother for example, got fired and within thirty minutes had another job. Where I work, so are really understaffed. My sister on the other hand, 19 yrs old, spent months and months looking for a job, unsuccessfully, and still is unemployed...why? Because she is one of these entitled youths who thinks that she is above working in restaraunts, fast food, etc. she wants a good paying job handed to her...did I mention she dropped out of high school?

It's something I notice a lot where I live. There are a lot of uneducated kids who don't finish high school, yet feel this sense of entitlement and think that they "deserve" a great job right away. I live in a city that centers around the oil field and so these kids grow up thinking it all comes so easy, many of which take the short and quick way out and head to the oil field. This tends to leave businesses lacking, hence why everywhere is short handed and always hiring.

I'm sure there ARE plenty of kids who feel entitled and won't take the jobs that are available to them. But for every one of them there are many more who WOULD but can't - because the job won't take them or, as Vampyremage said, can't live on the wage the job offers.

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Where I live it has nothing to do with minimum wage. It's not expensive to live here (apt range from 375-700 / month) and fast food places and such are so desperate they are paying 10-15$ hr. Way above min wage. Jack n the box and McDonald's start you off at 10/hr. min wage is about 7.50. I have heard kids, such as my sis and her friends, say "I'm not working in a place like that". Teenagers and young people in their early 20s get hired where I work and after they actually start working, quite cause they don't want to work. Where I work, your average around 20/hr, so it has nothing to do with pay here.

For our town atleast, it is about entitlement. I may not be like that for other places, I know, but for our town it is.

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Where I live it has nothing to do with minimum wage. It's not expensive to live here (apt range from 375-700 / month) and fast food places and such are so desperate they are paying 10-15$ hr. Way above min wage. Jack n the box and McDonald's start you off at 10/hr. min wage is about 7.50. I have heard kids, such as my sis and her friends, say "I'm not working in a place like that". Teenagers and young people in their early 20s get hired where I work and after they actually start working, quite cause they don't want to work. Where I work, your average around 20/hr, so it has nothing to do with pay here.

For our town atleast, it is about entitlement. I may not be like that for other places, I know, but for our town it is.

Wow. Yes, that certainly sounds like entitlement in that case. In my city its really expensive to live. $700 would be an extremely cheap appartment and often not a very good one. Rent is normally going to be $1000+ not to mention all the other expenses of living. I know so many people around my area, mostly young people, who are desperate for work. There are a couple that aren't working because they refuse to take anything outside of their chosen field, but the vast majority of them would take anything that was offered to them. Unfortunately, outside of minimum wage jobs that don't pay enough to live in such an expensive city, the jobs simply aren't available.

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Well, I think that these charts are just stating what's obvious. People are having babies faster than companies can grow... It's obvious that more and more youth will be jobless. The problem lies in the people's inability to control population themselves, which will eventually make the government take things into their own hands. There is already a human overpopulation, and it seems like that humans will continue having more and more babies... You cannot expect for things to go well if you're bringing in more humans than your economy/resources can handle. It's the people's fault.

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Chrysanthalis

Well, I think that these charts are just stating what's obvious. People are having babies faster than companies can grow... It's obvious that more and more youth will be jobless. The problem lies in the people's inability to control population themselves, which will eventually make the government take things into their own hands. There is already a human overpopulation, and it seems like that humans will continue having more and more babies... You cannot expect for things to go well if you're bringing in more humans than your economy/resources can handle. It's the people's fault.

The thing is that the population isn't growing too much in most Western countries (i some places in Europe it's actually shrinking). Most places the population is holding fairly steady - with the exception of places like India and places in Africa. I can't speak for immigration rates, but surely population growth can't be accounting for the entire problem.

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Well, I think that these charts are just stating what's obvious. People are having babies faster than companies can grow... It's obvious that more and more youth will be jobless. The problem lies in the people's inability to control population themselves, which will eventually make the government take things into their own hands. There is already a human overpopulation, and it seems like that humans will continue having more and more babies... You cannot expect for things to go well if you're bringing in more humans than your economy/resources can handle. It's the people's fault.

The thing is that the population isn't growing too much in most Western countries (i some places in Europe it's actually shrinking). Most places the population is holding fairly steady - with the exception of places like India and places in Africa. I can't speak for immigration rates, but surely population growth can't be accounting for the entire problem.

Populations are steady, but there are more youths. Older people are dying at faster rates, and babies are being born at faster rates... This maintains a population at balance, whilst creating more young people.

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Well, I think that these charts are just stating what's obvious. People are having babies faster than companies can grow... It's obvious that more and more youth will be jobless. The problem lies in the people's inability to control population themselves, which will eventually make the government take things into their own hands. There is already a human overpopulation, and it seems like that humans will continue having more and more babies... You cannot expect for things to go well if you're bringing in more humans than your economy/resources can handle. It's the people's fault.

The thing is that the population isn't growing too much in most Western countries (i some places in Europe it's actually shrinking). Most places the population is holding fairly steady - with the exception of places like India and places in Africa. I can't speak for immigration rates, but surely population growth can't be accounting for the entire problem.

Populations are steady, but there are more youths. Older people are dying at faster rates, and babies are being born at faster rates... This maintains a population at balance, whilst creating more young people.

What part of the world are you thinking of? In most developed countries, they are struggling with an aging population (the Baby Boomers) who are living longer due to improvements in health care and standards of living while birth rates are declining. For example, Canada's population stays afloat mostly due to immigration rather than birth rates.

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Well, I think that these charts are just stating what's obvious. People are having babies faster than companies can grow... It's obvious that more and more youth will be jobless. The problem lies in the people's inability to control population themselves, which will eventually make the government take things into their own hands. There is already a human overpopulation, and it seems like that humans will continue having more and more babies... You cannot expect for things to go well if you're bringing in more humans than your economy/resources can handle. It's the people's fault.

The thing is that the population isn't growing too much in most Western countries (i some places in Europe it's actually shrinking). Most places the population is holding fairly steady - with the exception of places like India and places in Africa. I can't speak for immigration rates, but surely population growth can't be accounting for the entire problem.

Populations are steady, but there are more youths. Older people are dying at faster rates, and babies are being born at faster rates... This maintains a population at balance, whilst creating more young people.

What part of the world are you thinking of? In most developed countries, they are struggling with an aging population (the Baby Boomers) who are living longer due to improvements in health care and standards of living while birth rates are declining. For example, Canada's population stays afloat mostly due to immigration rather than birth rates.

At least where I lived most my life, old people are dying fast and young people are being born fast. I grew up in PR...

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[At least where I lived most my life, old people are dying fast and young people are being born fast. I grew up in PR...

That's not the case anywhere in the US now. In fact, the sector that has the most jobs is health care, because people are living longer and being treated for diseases/conditions that would have killed them 50 years ago. But young people graduating from college don't have degrees that equip them for those jobs.

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Where I live it has nothing to do with minimum wage. It's not expensive to live here (apt range from 375-700 / month) and fast food places and such are so desperate they are paying 10-15$ hr.

You must live in Fairyland or something. :blink:

Seriously though, it's awkward to have a job in a fast food joint when that food is revolting and makes you ill. I did that once, and was constantly asked by my manager why I brought my lunch instead of using my employee discount to eat there. You can't exactly tell them you wouldn't even give their food to your dog...

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[At least where I lived most my life, old people are dying fast and young people are being born fast. I grew up in PR...

That's not the case anywhere in the US now. In fact, the sector that has the most jobs is health care, because people are living longer and being treated for diseases/conditions that would have killed them 50 years ago. But young people graduating from college don't have degrees that equip them for those jobs.

But this is the global youth unemployment crisis... Not the US youth unemployment crisis... So, I find it reasonable to talk about where I lived. O.o

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Chrysanthalis

[At least where I lived most my life, old people are dying fast and young people are being born fast. I grew up in PR...

That's not the case anywhere in the US now. In fact, the sector that has the most jobs is health care, because people are living longer and being treated for diseases/conditions that would have killed them 50 years ago. But young people graduating from college don't have degrees that equip them for those jobs.

But this is the global youth unemployment crisis... Not the US youth unemployment crisis... So, I find it reasonable to talk about where I lived. O.o

It is reasonable to talk about where you lived. But I think the point Sally was trying to make is that the trend you experienced is not the case everywhere. The United States is just one example.

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