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Having trouble finding a job? As the unemployment rate rises and the economy is becoming weaker, finding a job is getting to be even harder for young adults. The job market is more competitive.
According to an article by the Washington Post, young people are having trouble finding jobs in Chicago. Young adults are “competing with older, laid-off workers, illegal immigrants and college graduates who cannot find work in their fields, as well as with cuts in federal summer jobs programs.”
Macias, 19, has been looking for work on and off for four years, starting after an aneurysm disabled his father. “They say they don’t want to hire teenagers — they think we aren’t as responsible,” Macias said. He wants to work so he can help his mother, who cleans office buildings at night.
The national youth jobless rate for June was at its highest in 6 decades. Only 37% of teenagers, ages 16 to 19 were employed compared to 51% in June of 2000, according to Northeastern University’s Center for Labor Market Studies, which analyzed Labor Department data.
This is only one of many cases of high young adult unemployment rates. The center’s earlier study of 10 major cities showed that the District had the highest youth joblessness rate, 86 percent, followed by Chicago, with 85 percent, and Detroit and New York at 82 percent.
According to the Arizona Republic, their youth are suffering from joblessness as well. Tracy Clark, an economist with the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University says that “the weak economy may result in fewer hires but, teens may benefit from a smaller labor pool of illegal workers following the new employer sanction laws.”
Young adults should not stray away from the job market because of this. Sometimes what you are looking for is right under your nose. The A.R. reports that there are local jobs available like your neighborhood pool or your local movie theatre. The thing is you have to be willing to get out there and look for a job and be willing to work once you get it.
Check back Monday to see the “7 Questions Job Seekers Need to Ask”
