Unemployment
Many millennials looking for work
Demographics were the talk of Tuesday’s election—White voters, male voters, single women voters, Hispanics, African Americans and of course, young voters—the 18-29 year olds (millennials) who represent America’s future and a key swing demographic in many of the battleground election states, according Paul T. Conway, president of Generation Opportunity.
But Conway says the stalled U.S. economy is playing havoc in the lives of too many millennials. In fact, in September, millennials faced an unemployment rate of 11.8 percent, and if the labor force participation rates were factored into the calculation the unemployment rate for this group would jump to 16.6 percent.
The rate for African Americans and Hispanics is higher, as always. Blacks experienced 21 percent unemployment and Hispanics were at 12.1 percent.
What is notable about this population, said Conway, is that they typically have the highest level of disposable income, because those who are working are unencumbered by expenses like mortgages. They are very politically influential and in four elections cycles (2020) will comprise 38 percent of the American electorate.
They have volunteered to fight in two American wars; represent a huge percentage of the people who helped rebuild the Gulf Coast after Katrina and have responded in large numbers to the Hurricane Sandy crisis.
But Conway points out that in order for America to truly compete with nations like India and China, the United States cannot accept that a large swath of the talent and creativity of the nation are sitting on the sidelines unemployed.
What is needed, said Conway, a former chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Labor, is for businesses (particularly small firms) to create the entry-level jobs positions that millennials typically step into as they leave high school, college and postgraduate school.
But the uncertainty of what’s going to happen with tax cuts in January and the unstable regulatory environment have made businesses concerned about their margins and thus hesitate to create the entry-level jobs, Conway said.
At the same time, he said older workers have been so hard hit by the economic downtown since 2008, that many are taking pay cuts to stay in a job, which again squeezes the creation of more entry-level jobs.
Couple this with the reality that many schools, universities and community colleges are not working with their local business communities to turn out students with the training to work in the jobs they are creating and, Conway says, you have a recipe for high unemployment within the millennial population.
And that ultimately results in a United States that is not maximizing all its talents and skills.
WASHINGTON (NNPA)—After riding to victory in Ohio on the strength of his successful auto bailout plan and a come-from-behind victory in Virginia and possibly Florida, President Barack Obama was riding high on Wednesday.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Nothing, it seems, can bridge the bottomless political divide in Washington over taxes and spending.
Not an election last November that gave President Barack Obama a second term. Not polling that shows a strong majority of Americans want both sides to compromise in forging an agreement to reduce chronic federal deficits and debts.
Both sides agree that a thriving middle class is key to American prosperity, and that tax reform is part of the solution to chronic federal deficits. They both call for finally addressing the issue of undocumented immigrants.
Otherwise, President Barack Obama’s first State of the Union address of his second term and the Republican response by rising GOP star Sen. Marco Rubio showed how deeply entrenched each side remains in long-held positions. It all portends continued political dysfunction in Washington.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Cold and sunny, the mood anticipating the arrival of the president was electric. At the National Mall, people who had flown in from all over the country and some from other parts of the world, filled the seats, covered the green lawn and lined the barriers. It was a beautiful occasion, even for the second time. But even more special, it was the day America recognized one of the greatest civil rights leaders the world has known—the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King.
President Obama on Wednesday formally proposed new gun-control policies and initiated 23 separate executive actions aimed at curbing gun violence. The Obama administration can implement about half of the proposals, but the rest will require congressional approval.
Obama called on Congress to swiftly pass legislation to ban assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines for civilian use and to require universal background checks for all gun buyers.
