Posted on 05/26/2011 9:27:03 AM PDT by Academiadotorg
Despite the optimism of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) about the job market, real data indicate that college graduates will encounter few jobs when they seek employment.
“Private-sector jobs in 2011 are fewer than they were way back in June 1999 [italics in original source],” Robert P. Murphy points out in the March 2011 issue of The Free Market, a newsletter published by the Ludwig von Mises Institute. “In the more than 11 intervening years, through immigration and natural growth the (civilian noninstitutional) U. S. population increased by 31 million people [Italics Murphy’s].”
“And yet we have fewer private-sector jobs in the country now than in mid-1999. There hasn’t been a comparable period of stagnant job creation since the late 1930s.”
For you history buffs, that latter milestone did indeed coincide with the Great Depression. Murphy is the author of the books Lessons for the Young Economist and The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Great Depression and the New Deal.
“To see just how unusual our current predicament is, it’s actually more instructive to look at the level of employment in private industry, because it’s harder to fudge these numbers,” Murphy contends. “During every recession, jobs were shed.”
“But the jobs would usually bounce back during the recovery phase. The last two recessions have changed that standard pattern.”
(Excerpt) Read more at academia.org ...
Jobs are hard to find for economists, unless you have a master’s or a PhD. Then at least you could teach or do research.
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