Graduate unemployment

Graduate unemployment, or educated unemployment, is unemployment among people with an academic degree.

Research undertaken proved that unemployment and underemployment of graduates are devastating phenomena in their lives. A high incidence of either are indicators of institutional ineffectiveness and inefficiency. Since the beginning of the economic recession in the US economy in 2007, an increasing number of graduates have been unable to find permanent positions in their chosen field. According to statistics, the unemployment rate for recent college graduates has been higher than all college graduates in the past decade, implying that it has been more difficult for graduates to find a job in recent years. One year after graduation, the unemployment rate of 2007–2008 bachelor's degree recipients was 9%. Underemployment among graduates is high. Educated unemployment or underemployment is due to a mismatch between the aspirations of graduates and employment opportunities available to them.

Aggravating factors for unemployment are the rapidly increasing quantity of international graduates competing for an inadequate number of suitable jobs, schools not keeping their curriculums relevant to the job market, the growing pressure on schools to increase access to education (which usually requires a reduction in educational quality), and students being constantly told that an academic degree is the only route to a secure future.

College and Universities cost thousands of dollars a semester, not including study materials, books, room, and board. Tuition has gone up 1,120 percent in the last thirty years. Students have been given the impression that employers are looking for people who, through tests and grades, have demonstrated that they are high achievers. In many recent surveys, that has been proved otherwise. Employers are looking for people who have learned how to learn, and have gained substantial communication skills as well as critical thinking abilities. Graduates are not meeting employers needs. Students are also struggling to pay off their student loans. Without the desired, and needed jobs, graduates are accumulating debt and struggling to pay back their loans. 15 percent of the student borrowers default within the first three years of repayment. Many resort to returning to live with their parents and having to work multiple part-time jobs. Loans average about twenty to thirty thousand dollars. Higher education becomes an investment in which students are expecting to find a job with enough income to pay off the loans in a timely manner.

In June 2013, 11.8 million persons were unemployed, putting the unemployment rate at 7.6 percent. The state of the economy is a large contributor to these numbers. In June, 2001 the unemployment rate was 4.6% After 9/11/2001, the unemployment rate skyrocketed to 5.7% in November 2001 and rose drastically in 2009 to 10% in October. In September, 2015, unemployment is reported by the Labor Department to be at 5.1%. However, some economists dispute that as accurate and claim that unemployment is much higher due to the number of people who have stopped looking for jobs. The lack of jobs available, and skills desired by employers, are beginning to prove to be another major cause for graduate unemployment in the U.S. Graduates are completing school with a degree and a head full of knowledge, but still lack work experience to impress white-collar employers.

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