College Grads Opting for Jobs Below their Qualifications

sad graduateAre you a new graduate? Have you gotten a job or still searching for one? What about your classmates? How have they fared in the job market? If you and your friends are like most new graduates, you have probably come across a lot of recent grads who were forced to take jobs that were below their qualifications.

We know a 26 year old individual who has a Masters degree in the field of history. He is highly qualified, but what is he doing? Unfortunately, he works as a bartender because he has no other options at the moment. The industry has shunned him, and other than taking a low pay job, he cannot do much if he wants to manage his expenses. The sad thing is that he is not the only graduate out there who had to choose this option.

The competition levels in the job market are high, but despite recovery, there still are not enough positions available. And so there are many graduates who have taken jobs that do not even require a college degree.  The effect of this is channeling over to the labor industry as well; the competition is rising there as well and wages are in a downswing.

The unemployment rate for people between 25 and 35 years is around 10.6%. In the last five years, this value has jumped by over 4%. For people with a college degree who fall in this same age group, their unemployment rate is 3.7%.  This is an increase by 1.5% in the past five years.

An industry professional told us that since the labor market is being infiltrated by college graduates, people with high school degrees are suffering. Previously, they could easily get jobs but now because of this new competition, they are having a tough time.

A survey has claimed that there are over 44% of Americans whose jobs are below their qualification levels. This is so for the age group between 22 and 27 years. The previously recorded value was around 34%.

As far as wages are concerned, high school jobs pay only 62% of what college level jobs pay.

The survey claims that this is an era that is very similar to the 1990’s. Even then rates increased, but when the economy strengthened, they declined. Maybe it will be the same sometime later in this decade.

Source: www.dailyfinance.com

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