Reply #4: Lived in Europe a long time. [View All]

[JDPriestly]

This is based on my experience some years ago:

European countries had a different attitude toward career and employment. If you were a trained as a teacher but couldn't find a job, for example, you were not expected to accept the first job that came your way. You were permitted and even expected to hold out for a teaching job. People in Germany or Austria especially spent more time preparing for their jobs. They entered into apprenticeships even to become sales clerks. They were more closely identified with their profession and did not switch professions as easily as Americans do. Their unemployment rates reflect that fact. If you are trained as a teacher, you probably won't get hired as a bus driver, for example. You can't compare their unemployment rates to ours.