Young adults hit hardest by unemployment

09.29.09
By Lewis Green

With many Americans already facing mounting credit card debt and home loan payments, the rising unemployment rate is causing an even greater strain on households, but a new report finds that those who may be suffering the most are the people trying to start their careers.

According to an article from Sunday's New York Post using figures obtained from the U.S. Department of Labor, 52.2 percent of those age 16 to 24 - not including students - are now unemployed. The paper notes that this is the highest percentage since the end of World War II and is affecting many young people's ability to start life on their own.

Heidi Shierholz, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute, told the paper that while most generations are better off financially than their parents, that's unlikely to happen with this group unless the nation's job market changes quickly.

"It's an extremely dire situation in the short run," she said. "This group won't do as well as their parents unless the jobs situation changes."

A report earlier this month from the Associated Press indicated that young people are feeling the economic stress more than most other segments of the population. According to the news source, parts of the country with large populations of young people are facing the biggest obstacles.

The Associated Press Economic Stress Index found that the segments of the population that are facing the most stress tend to be either younger or older workers. The report finds that those between the ages of 25 and 29 or over the age of 55 have the highest stress scores.

To make matters worse for many people starting out in their careers is the amount of debt they face before they even begin working. Figures released last month from the College Board showed that graduates at public institutions for the 2007-2008 school year had a median debt level of $17,700 while their private college counterparts had a median level of $22,375.

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many young people are being hit hard by unemployment