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Does anyone remember what the people online used to say when there were articles about the low unemployment rate during the last booms with offical unemployment rates in the years 1997-2000 and 2005-2007. Did the people complain about the job market back then too?
I am interested in the real health of the labor market today vs. the so called boom years of 1997-2000 and 2005-2007. Wasn't there lots of people complaining about low pay, lack of good jobs and government officals lying about unemployment stats back then too? Hasn't the job market always been challenging for the bottom 50% the longest time?
There were jobs in construction etc during the housing boom, but high paid jobs in IT etc were leaving the country super fast. Then the housing boom collapsed, and here we are.
The linked article above says the job market is on fire. Though if you look at the comments not one of the readers believe it. They say because their family and friends don't have great job, the government data is flawed, or at worst- a complete lie......
Bleh.
The nonsense idiotic article bases its entire premise on the "Unemployment Rate".
What's missing here is that someone is considered "employed" if they get paid for just one hour/week.
STEM and particularly IT has always been a big player at college fairs.
Always want to grab the best and brightest regardless of the economic situation.
Students with good grades pursuing anything in STEM today should not be worried.
A lot of these companies do not hold back because they are always farming for new talent.
That is the nature of STEM.
The real problem is if you don't have a college degree and want to get ahead.
Most employers are looking at STEM and Business Majors. They predict that the average graduate this year will start at about $45,000 and up. More than 1/3 of employers have indicated that they would hire more graduates this year than in 2014. While a similar percentage plan on hiring the same amount of new graduates. The job outlook is very positive for the class of 2016, unless something bizarre happens in our country.
We went to college job fairs and offered intern jobs to sophomores, or even freshmen. According to our HR, if we wait till they are seniors, we will not be able to hire anyone.
And it is common a fresh graduate's starting salary is higher than his professors'.
Most employers are looking at STEM and Business Majors. They predict that the average graduate this year will start at about $45,000 and up. More than 1/3 of employers have indicated that they would hire more graduates this year than in 2014. While a similar percentage plan on hiring the same amount of new graduates. The job outlook is very positive for the class of 2016, unless something bizarre happens in our country.
I agree. My son is in college pursuing a business degree. I'm pushing "finance" on him and told him to look at the multinationals for an internship.
We went to college job fairs and offered intern jobs to sophomores, or even freshmen. According to our HR, if we wait till they are seniors, we will not be able to hire anyone.
And it is common a fresh graduate's starting salary is higher than his professors'.
Right, this is the practice that we are seeing. Get them early and then hire upon graduation if they have proven themselves to be a good fit for the company/organization/agency.
The nonsense idiotic article bases its entire premise on the "Unemployment Rate".
What's missing here is that someone is considered "employed" if they get paid for just one hour/week.
Even the U6 that treats those who work part time as unemployed has come down significantly and has been a steady decline. If it continues at its current pace in will be close to record lows for the measurement by next year.
Does anyone remember what the people online used to say when there were articles about the low unemployment rate during the last economic booms with their low offical unemployment rates in the years 1997-2000 and 2005-2007. Did the people complain about the job market back then too?
No, because from 1997-2000, the global economy was just taking shape. China was just beginning to emerge as the world manufacturer. Meaning a lot of low wage jobs were still in America. So the less educated low skill workers didn't feel the pinch as much. In fact, most of them were doing quite well.
2005-2007. There were a minority who were saying that a recession is looming and things are looking gloomy (most of them liberals), and the majority who thinks the good time is going to last forever. Things were beginning to crack by 2006 and more and more analysts were predicting a recession (they had no idea how bad it would turn out to be). The housing boom kept a lot of low-wage workers employed so people like Joe the Plumber thinks things were fine. But this period is also a job-loss recovery with stagnant wages and traditionally higher-paying jobs beginning to get outsourced - meaning it was the white-collar workers mostly in coastal cities who felt the pinch first, while the lower wage or blue collar workers were riding the housing boom. The hedge fund class also were raking it in due to the stock market. So while there were complaints, they were dismissed as liberal rant by the traditionally conservative professions (Wall Street and blue collar workers).
Now - the digital age creates a mismatch of jobs and people with the right skill. Gone are the days when someone with no skill but the right attitude can make a living. Even as a blue collar work, you need the right skill to operate machine etc, to get hired. This creates a situation where many jobs were unfilled and many workers who need jobs incapable of filling them. US is transitioning to a full-blow high skill/high wage economy, those who get left behind needs someone to blame.
Does anyone remember what the people online used to say when there were articles about the low unemployment rate during the last economic booms with their low offical unemployment rates in the years 1997-2000 and 2005-2007. Did the people complain about the job market back then too?
I am interested in the real health of the labor market today vs. the so called boom years of 1997-2000 and 2005-2007. Wasn't there lots of people complaining about low pay, lack of good jobs and government officals lying about unemployment stats back then too? Hasn't the job market always been challenging for the bottom 50% the longest time?
I don't remember specifically about the periods you mentioned, but I do remember complaints in the 1980s. The U3 number is certainly not a perfect indicator, particularly as some absolute measurement. There can be a lot of variance in economy health at with any particular unemployment level. However, I do think the trend line is a good indicator.
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