TODAY’S RENO GAZETTE JOURNAL FRONT PAGE: “COLLEGE GRADS FACE GRIM JOB PROSPECTS”

NEVADA COLLEGE GRADS STRUGGLING UNDER THE OBAMA ECONOMY

Reno Gazette Journal:College Students Shouldn’t Expect An Easier Time Finding A Job Until 2014. “The job market is slowly improving, but analysts say this year’s batch of college graduates will face a tough time finding work in their fields of study, and things might not be much better in 2014. … The job outlook for 2012 graduates is better than last year, but not by much, said Heidi Shierholz, a labor market economist with the Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C. ‘We are seeing a slow improvement, but it is still grim and we have a long way to go until it really gets better,’ Shierholz said. ‘I would say at least until 2014.’” (Lenita Powers, “Job Outlook For Class Of 2012 College Grads Remains Grim,” Reno Gazette Journal, 5/15/12)

2009 University Of Reno Graduate Alissa Backman Didn’t “Know Anyone In My Class Who Had A Job Right Out Of School.” “In December 2009, Alissa Backman graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno, with a bachelor’s degree in civil environmental engineering. ‘I don’t know anyone in my class who had a job right out of school,’ she said. ‘I think a lot of them decided to go to graduate school because the economy was so bad.’” (Lenita Powers, “Job Outlook For Class Of 2012 College Grads Remains Grim,” Reno Gazette Journal, 5/15/12)

Reno Gazette Journal:Students Who Finds Jobs Are Often Paid Lower Wages That Will Impact Their Salaries For 10 To 15 Years. “Students who find jobs during a weak economy also will start at lower wages, which can impact them for 10 to 15 years because their salary increases will not be as high as they would have been if they had started their jobs at a higher salary.” (Lenita Powers, “Job Outlook For Class Of 2012 College Grads Remains Grim,” Reno Gazette Journal, 5/15/12)

Heidi Shierholz, Labor Market Economist With The Economic Policy Institute: “They probably will get back on what would have been a normal earnings trajectory (through wage increases), but they won’t get back the earnings they already lost. … They will have learned less over those 10 to 15 years, and that amount could have translated into a down payment on a house.” (Lenita Powers, “Job Outlook For Class Of 2012 College Grads Remains Grim,” Reno Gazette Journal, 5/15/12)

JUST AS THEY’RE STRUGGLING ACROSS AMERICA

Nationally, 53.6 Percent Of Young Americans With A College Degree Are “Jobless Or Underemployed,” The Highest Number Since 2001.  “About 1.5 million, or 53.6 percent, of bachelor’s degree-holders under the age of 25 last year were jobless or underemployed, the highest share in at least 11 years. In 2000, the share was at a low of 41 percent, before the dot-com bust erased job gains for college graduates in the telecommunications and IT fields.” (Hope Yen, “1 In 2 New Graduates Are Jobless Or Underemployed,” The Associated Press, 4/23/12)

• The Number Of College Degree Holders Who Are Underemployed Has Increased Under Obama. “Out of the 1.5 million who languished in the job market, about half were underemployed, an increase from the previous year.” (Hope Yen, “1 In 2 New Graduates Are Jobless Or Underemployed,” The Associated Press, 4/23/12)

“Young Adults With Bachelor’s Degrees Are Increasingly Scraping By In Lower-Wage Jobs.” “A weak labor market already has left half of young college graduates either jobless or underemployed in positions that don’t fully use their skills and knowledge. Young adults with bachelor’s degrees are increasingly scraping by in lower-wage jobs — waiter or waitress, bartender, retail clerk or receptionist, for example — and that’s confounding their hopes a degree would pay off despite higher tuition and mounting student loans.” (Hope Yen, “1 In 2 New Graduates Are Jobless Or Underemployed,” The Associated Press, 4/23/12)

When Today’s Graduates Find A Job, They Will Earn 9 Percent Less. “If history is a guide, when today’s young graduates do find a job, they will earn 9% less on average than if they had finished college in better times, according to a recent Columbia University study. The worst-off graduates may be those from the classes of 2008 and 2009, according to Yale School of Management economist Lisa Kahn.” (Joe Light and Lauren Weber, “Generation Jobless: For Those Under 24, A Portrait In Crisis,” The Wall Street Journal, 11/7/11)