One of every five men 25 to 54 not working

Article

The betting is that the Labor Department's Friday snapshot of the job market will show that employers added workers in April, perhaps even that the unemployment rate fell.

That would be good news, but not good enough. It's hard to exaggerate how bad the job market is. Here's one arresting fact: One of every five men 25 to 54 isn't working.

Even more alarming, the jobs that many of these men, or those like them, once had in construction, factories and offices aren't coming back. "A good guess…is that when the economy recovers five years from now, one in six men who are 25 to 54 will not be working," Lawrence Summers, the president's economic adviser, said the other day.

If they're working at all. Today, 6.5 million workers have been out of work for six months or more, and that includes only those who are still looking for work. History suggests the longer they're unemployed, the less likely they are ever to work again. Faster economic growth would help a lot, but won't suffice.

One out of every 5 men aged 25 to 54 are not working. That age group is the core area of our workforce it seems to me. 25 - people coming out of college, while 54 is somewhat near the age when some people retire.

The article says that women are not suffering as much, because it says that women were more likely to be in healthcare and a few other sectors. Men on the other hand, were hit harder because contruction and manufacuring were outsourced/layed off/ all the stuff that comes with recession, and the article says the men that were unemployed for a long time are more than likely not going to be back working when/if jobs come back.

Haha thanks for the depressing news man! as a 30 year old out of work for about 8 months I'm doubtful I'll ever have a job with benefits again, but on the bright side I like loafing around between jobs. I don't care for a big house or luxury cars although these would be nice if I won the lottery.

A bit off topic here but I think if 100 or 1000 people won 25 million instead of one person winning 25 million, we would have so many jobs as these winners either buy materials or services or quit their good jobs so someone jobless could have benefical employment.

I'm included in that statistic

hell I'm even overqualified
to work at McDonalds
or so they say.

And the job of stock boy and
toilet cleaner at the grocery store
went to an 18 yr old still in high school.

Hell I cant even get a job working
picking cucumbers for a local farmer
cuz he'd rather hire illegals who will
work for $3.50 an hr. Which is also
illegal.

There are no jobs left
plain and simple

reply to post by star in a jar


Ha, indeed it is depressing to me to. I was suprised to actually see it on the front page of Yahoo News. Im 22, and not even halfway thru college yet (just doin the required classes so far) and i still have another 1 - 1/2 years left until I go to a 4 year university, that is, if I even decide to go to a university. Im still deciding if its worth the thousands of dollars its going to cost.

Personally, I do not really see the economy getting better within a few years, and more than likely, just like a bunch of other people, im going to be sitting around still waiting for jobs to come around.

Guess how much my tuition was for just this semester, (spring)? I took 3 classes, which totalled to over $1000. then books, some classes required 2 books each. The price was minumum of $70 for the cheapest, while the most expensive was $185 - and that was for a Intermediate Algebra book, nothing high up there like Statistics or anything like that. This is just a regular community college I go to, not some fancy up-scale one either. I kind of wonder - will all this money im spending even going to be worth it when I finish everything?

Edit - Even tho I am under 25, I still have no luck in finding a job that will even call me back to say "sorry, we're full." And with summer around the corner, I believe its going to get worse, with a bunch of people getting out of school, (highschool and college).

[edit on 7-5-2010 by buni11687]

Being laid off is not fun and it's up to us to make sure we have work for ourselves and our families.. no one else

Nonsense! There are plenty of jobs out there ... if you like choosing between food and shelter, and plan to work right 'til the day you die.

Job training is easy - can you say "you want fries with that?".

Its sad to see so many died for their countrys to see blood sucking traitors who never fought, hiring overseas people in almost every western nation instead of long term citizens.
Some say ooh thats cause no one local would do the jobs .
Bull I drove taxis for a year for $7 per hour in Melb Australia....why cause I had to to survive and I thank the stars the job was available , the alternative was bankruptcy.
Now these jobs are snapped up by Indians and the like on student visas, people who are not even permanent residents get the menial jobs , and Aussie born or naturalised Aussies are left on the dole.
You take any job if you are facing ruin and homelessness, now those facing what I did will see foriegn speaking nationals , getting their $20 bucks an hour at Cleaning jobs , taxi driving(10 bucks an hour) whilst they are forced to keep collecting their dole cheque just to keep their kids from starving.
It sucks so bad , but that is life .
Its our fault for allowing it to happen.
Th erulers are mostly uni types who were pampered by their parents, they are mostly sociopaths in smart clothes.

reply to post by boondock-saint


Hopefully more states will follow Arizona lead and crack down on illegal aliens . Illegal Aliens are an underclass of their own making like the Blacks were in Apartheid South Africa . Not only do illegal aliens rob legal residences of employment they are hurting the US economically because from the little they earn a lot goes back to where ever they come from . Paying a legal resident or American Citizen to do the same job would see cost rises in the short - medium term . But most crucially of all in the long term the greater spending power and the fact that the money is more likely to be spend in the USA . As I understand it Henry Ford paid his worker what was considered to be a decent wage and in return they brought cars made by the company .

I grand you that people will still be buying stuff that is Made in China but that is another topic . Eliminating agricultural subsidies which would allow farmers to look more at overseas markets would also in the long term bring economic benefits to the more agricultural states .

reply to post by buni11687


Yeah what about women? I have been searching for a job since January and have yet to get a job. I am qualified for the jobs that I am applying to but nothing has come of it. I have sent out a resume everyday for months, and I have been rejected by 14 places!! I am severely depressed as I really want a job!! My cut off is the end of May as I cannot get my kids into daycare in June, so i am desperate!!
I am even willing to work for minium wage here. Well whatever, I would assume that men would have it easier but I guess I was wrong.

Originally posted by boondock-saint
I'm included in that statistic

hell I'm even overqualified
to work at McDonalds
or so they say.

And the job of stock boy and
toilet cleaner at the grocery store
went to an 18 yr old still in high school.

Hell I cant even get a job working
picking cucumbers for a local farmer
cuz he'd rather hire illegals who will
work for $3.50 an hr. Which is also
illegal.

There are no jobs left
plain and simple

I totally hear you on that one, I have 14 years experience with computers, eight years experience with customer service, 5 years experience with cash handling. I have applied for fast food, retail, restaurant, bank, clerical, CRMA (I am certified they will not hire me), PSS (they want me to certified, eve though I have worked as one not certified), Personal assistant, gas company, and web maintenance clerk, and haven't gotten squat!!!

I no longer get my hopes up with any job anymore as all have been a let down. All I need is someone to give me a chance. It all has to with references, I have two they need three but I have only lived up Maine since 2008! Seriously WTF!!!!! They do not like personal references!!