Graduation Rates and Unemployment Rates
(Amos).
“Why are people unemployed? Because there is no work. Why is there no work? Because people are not buying products and services. Why are people not buying products and services? Because they have no money. Why do people have no money? Because they are unemployed” (Bruce).
It is important for students to continue on with their education through college and possible consider graduate school in order to maximize their chances to get a job. The higher your education, the more likely you will have a job waiting for you after college.
There are so many reasons why unemployment is so high, but a lot of those reasons have to do with the amount of students graduating high school and college. Connections between a higher educated person verses someone who didn't finish college is also an issue. This page will mainly focus on the unemployment of high school graduates and college graduates.
It is important for students to continue on with their education through college and possible consider graduate school in order to maximize their chances to get a job. The higher your education, the more likely you will have a job waiting for you after college.
There are so many reasons why unemployment is so high, but a lot of those reasons have to do with the amount of students graduating high school and college. Connections between a higher educated person verses someone who didn't finish college is also an issue. This page will mainly focus on the unemployment of high school graduates and college graduates.
Causes
“Kids usually drop out of school following a long process of disengagement and academic struggle” (Convissor). Other causes of dropouts are that they have a lack of support from home and would rather leave to get a full-time job rather than finishing school. Another reason is that students get too far behind from missing class that they could not catch up. Unemployment is not only caused by dropouts, though. There are few other different categories that can increase unemployment, such as jobs being filled by higher educated people and outsourcing. “Because most companies are hiring less, college graduates have been accepting positions in the service industry that would normally be reserved for the less educated, causing a greater problem for high school graduates” (Campus Explorer). The more higher educated jobs not filled by graduates will lead companies toward finding foreign people to work for them, most of the time for lower pay. This can become more of a problem in the long run when companies can’t find the specified job level needed. Unemployment will rise for Americans if outsourcing continues and if more kids don’t graduate.
Short Term Effects
Students who make the decision of not finishing high school or college have to accept that they might have a hard time finding a job. “Without a high school diploma they will have a harder time finding a job, and they will earn much less when they do find one (about a million dollars less over a lifetime). They are more likely to have poor health, to live in poverty, and to have children at an early age, who in turn are also more likely to drop out of school” (Convissor).
Long Term Effects
“The education and skill level of the population in the United States is falling behind other countries” (Wagner). Unemployment rates will remain high as long as the US lags behind in education, which will in turn have a huge impact on the economy. This means less money spent in stores and less room for them to expand. Outsourcing, once again, can create a difficult situation for the economy. For example, less money will be spent because more jobs are being offered to foreigners who get paid less.
Recommendations
The best way to reduce unemployment would be to increase graduation rates by giving students lots of support throughout their education. Increasing graduation rates may make getting a job for a college graduate harder because more people will become highly educated. More graduates in high school and college might also actually have a positive outcome on the economy if they decide to make their own business that will require jobs. Secondly, by increasing jobs through economic expansion unemployment should decrease. For instance, if the government can create more money for the economy to spend, companies can reduce cuts and save jobs in the process. Government can increase jobs also by cutting taxes or lowering interest rates to come to the same result of decreasing unemployment.
Works Cited
- Amadeo, Kimberly. "Unemployment Solutions." About.com, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. <http://useconomy.about.com/od/suppl1/p/Unemployment-Solutions.htm>.
- Amos, Jason. "Unemployment Rate For High School Dropouts Soars in Latest Government Jobs Report." Alliance For Excellent Education, 8 Oct. 2010. Web. 3 Feb. 2013. ____<http://www.all4ed.org /blog/latest_government_jobs_report>.
- Bruce, Craig. "Unemployed Quotes." BrainyQuote, 2001-2003. Web. 9 Feb. 2013. <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/unemployed.html>.
- Bruno, Melissa. "Graduation and Unemployment." E-mail interview. 6 Feb. 2013.
- Campus Explorer. "Unemployment Rates Are Lower Among College Graduates." N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Jan. 2013. <http://www.campusexplorer.com/college-advice-tips/1FDB725F/Unemployment-Rates- are-Lower-Among-College-Graduates/>.
- Convissor, Kate. "Why Kids Drop Out of School." Http://www.eduguide.org. EduGuide, 2010. Web. <http://www.eduguide.org/library/viewarticle/2132/>.
- English-Online. "Why Do Students Drop Out of School?" N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2013. <http://www.english- online.at/education/school-dropouts/school-dropouts.htm>.
- Fredman, Josh. "Questions About Outsourcing & Unemployment." Chron.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. <http://work.chron.com/questions-outsourcing-unemployment-4514.html>.
- Idaszak, Jerome. "Ripple Effects of Unemployment." Http://www.kiplinger.com. N.p., 16 Apr. 2012. Web. 29 Jan. 2013. <http://www.kiplinger.com/article/business/T019-C021-S001-ripple-effects- of-unemployment.html>.
- Wagner, Hans. "Structural Unemployment Is Here to Stay." Investigating Answers, 2001-2013. Web. 29 Jan. 2013. <http://www.investinganswers.com/personal-finance/career-job-hunting/structural- unemployment-here-stay-1681>.