If you are the parent of a child between the ages of 16 and 24, chances are good that you’re burdening a substantial financial load. And if you are one of those teens or young adults, chances are even better that your guilt for being that beast of burden is at an all time high.
That’s because parents these days are not only hamstrung by college loans and insubordination, but by the recession’s handicap on the labor force, which has been particularly intense for those 16 to 24-year-olds. According to a recent study at Northeastern University, teen unemployment rates soared to 19.6 percent in April, which is double the national unemployment rate for all adults of 9.5 percent.
Parents are not only providing for kids that don’t boast a steady income outside of what is perhaps an allowance or funds left-over from student loans, but finding ways to keep them occupied and out of trouble. And with the summer months upon us, many believe the government must yet again step in and create opportunities for summer jobs like it did with the 09’ stimulus funds.
(By the way, unemployment entails those consciously seeking work and not finding it. Not the idle few sitting on the couch playing Halo and watching re-runs of Sportscenter.)
I believe that there are three levels (three age groups really) of young adult unemployment. Here are some things to think about when considering you (if you are still of age) or your unemployed child:
First Level: Teens (let’s say 13-18)
They’re becoming independent, creating their own self-image and attempting to distance themselves from you, however loving and democratic you’ll maintain that your parenting is. As a teenager, having a disposable income plays a decisive role in defining oneself because, as anyone in our consumer economy knows, you buy what you wish to become. This is clearly the more superficial reason for obtaining a job (as if looking cool and fitting in felt superficial, right?), but it’s also one of the more primary reasons for teens because they don’t usually need to worry about necessities like food and housing and raising a family. The other less superficial but just as primary reason involves doing something, anything. Getting out of the house, being proactive, whether or not it’s at the request of a parent is a great way for a kid to feel mature, responsible, and independent; a great way to boost confidence.
But here comes the snag: it used to be that teens looking for work would look to retail and fast-food establishments to go along with staples like lifeguarding and landscaping. But recently, places like Gap, Starbucks, and even McDonalds have been hiring people with college degrees. Because the retirement age has been increasing, and because the unemployment rate is near 10 percent, there are fewer opportunities for college graduates to immediately enter into their field of expertise. Jobs that never before demanded college degrees are then all of sudden being filled by graduates. Teens are then pushed out of the picture and left with a sizeable conundrum – how do you gain experience if employers are more willing to hire those with experience?
So if it’s the end of June and your child is still unemployed, I suggest talking to them about other options. These may include volunteering, or founding a business such as washing windows, detailing cars, mowing lawns or babysitting. The work and experience they’ll receive by just getting out there, even if it’s volunteering for free, will boost their self-esteem and help foster an adaptability that’s missing in children merely told that “you can do anything you want because you’re special.” Keep in mind that current economic instability and shaky job security basically demands versatility and humility.
Second Level: Young adults of college age (18-22)
As anyone currently enrolled is depressingly aware of, this present moment occupies more occupational uncertainty than is, how should I say…emotionally optimal. As if becoming an adult, entering the “real-world” and starting to pay-off accumulated debt needed to hold any more stress.
Note to parents: school isn’t the only thing getting us down; it’s the understanding and acceptance of longstanding financial insecurity.
I am admittedly generalizing the muddy sentiments floating around college campuses lately. Yet the desire to get out of debt is no generalization, and when entering the workforce during a time when that workforce doesn’t need you, this desire can indeed become demoralizing.
It’s tough enough during the school year to find time to hold down a substantial job while adequately juggling academic responsibilities. Plus in the offseason, many students must procure internships to help further their knowledge and gain professional experience. All well and good, but these internships are often unpaid; work that’s done for academic credit instead of even minimum wage. Again, there is nothing wrong in favoring a professional experience that may one day be financially beneficial over the cash-in-hand mindset – if you can afford it.
Students in low-income families paying for school themselves don’t possess the option to work for academic credit. For them, the fact that many employers only offer unpaid internships is unfortunate and unfair. Students are expected to build resumes by acquiring professional experience. Volunteering and unpaid internships does accord students the necessary experience, but it also leaves them vulnerable to a future where that experience might not immediately pay off in the way of a job. The question is then: take the cash or take a chance at playing the waiting-game?
Third Level: College graduates (21-24)
If you type “college graduates” into Google, the biggest search engine on the planet wants to finish your search with “can’t find jobs.” Google knows: education does not equal employment.
It’s no mystery that recent graduates can’t find jobs. It’s actually not uncommon for them to be 1) unemployed 2) hold a job outside their area of training, or 3) hold a job that doesn’t even require a college degree.
Think of the implications: moving back in with the folks; growing sullen and dejected; ruminating on where the last four years of your life went while working at least 30hrs/week at Starbucks. Things have gotten so bad that last year a graduate sued her school the full cost of tuition for not being able to find a job. The real story here is not whether it’s practical just to sue when you’re angry (it’s not), but what the government is doing to help people in serious debt find jobs straight out of school.
Last year’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act created or saved 640,000 jobs. This year stimulus money is drying up, and so are new jobs.
And it’s a shame. The average college grad is already over $20,000 in debt, according to a 2008 study by The Economic State of Young America. Student debt, plus inexperience with budgeting and managing credit, plus unemployment equals an extremely unfortunate personal finance situation where there is telling appeal to cash out your 401 (K) retirement plans. I guess young-adults can at least be thankful for the new health care bill that’ll keep them on their parents’ health insurance plan until they’re 26.
There are numerous places on the web guiding folks on ways to find a job and manage your financial affairs. Fortune magazine has an awesome interactive feature story called “How To Get A Job” up on CNNMoney.com. Also, using a free, online budget planner, asking advice from a parent or advisor, or even reading a few personal finance books can help a cash-strapped, debt-deep and jobless college graduate learn some smart financial tricks.
While the economy is not expected to rebound any time soon, it’s never too late to get ahead of the game. We plan for the future so that we won’t despair about the past.
You could also just stay in school and amass some more debt waiting for the economy to turn around. I’ve heard that described as the better option anyway.
For more tips and tools to help you manage your home, money and credit – including the most affordable credit monitoring on the web and complete identity theft protection – visit Quizzle.com.
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- 7 Things Every Apartment Renter Should Know
- 4 Money Tips for New College Grads
- 4 Things to Consider before Moving out of Your Parents’ House
It is sad that the average amount of debt a graduate has is $20,000. Might be a better idea to forgo college, take the $50,000 – $60,000 dollars and 4 years and invest it in your own business. Stimulates economy, creates more jobs, and will spark more creative and competitive businesses.
I need a control-z for my $50,000 student debt!
It is close to impossible for adults in their late 20′s to afford to live on their own in many regions now. We make a make a big deal about college graduates not finding jobs, but what about the majority of younger adults who did NOT go to college? We make a big deal about young adults having to live with their parents, but what about those whose parents KICKED them OUT or when their is DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, and living at home is not an option? There is a growing number of young adults sleeping in the parks now, getting sick from the exposure to cold at night, and some of them even DYING! It is very difficult to find ANY job in my region, it is as if one has to FIGHT to even get a stressful minimum wage job. Those types of jobs are not sustainable- physically, emotionally, OR financially. The people who take those jobs are Mexican mothers who are struggling to help supplement the low income of their construction-worker/truck-driver husbands and their five children, who, by the way, all live together in a tiny two-room apartment… with their grandpa!! This is very typical in the area where I live. Do you have any idea of how much even a tiny apartment costs and all the hidden fees that renters get charged?!
Continuing to come up with enough money to rent an apartment is not sustainable. If things get any worse, there is going to be wide-spread violence, just look what happened in Detroit.