The Young, the Old, the Unemployed

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The Young, the Old, the Unemployed

by Mike Konczal

What does data on unemployment by age and education mean to you?

Roosevelt Institute intern Charlie Eisenhood dug up this data on the unemployment rate by age and education. Here it is in September 2010:



And here it was in December 2007 when the recession started:



Here is the difference between the two, along with the percent increase, so a (100%) is a doubling:



What jumps out for me? College educated 20-24 year olds have the highest percentage increase in unemployment. This should go against a structural unemployment story, as college educated people have the ‘freshest’ skills and incredibly high mobility. It’s worth pointing them out in particular because if their careers hit a rough spot, hysteresis sets in and they’ll have serious wage losses years down the road (see this classic White House blog post on the subject by Peter Orszag). Their situation is also important because the crisis is often seen as a small deal for college educated workers.

more

Austan Goolsbee explains the jobs trends