Trendevents: No Longer Any Guarantees

Clyde Wilson

1995

Published in:

Social Trends Newsletters, Feb. 1995, No. 132

Because of the transformation in industry and business, many of the management and professional jobs once available no longer exist. Even college graduates are being forced to lower their sights or expectations when starting their careers.

According to Paul Ryscavage, a labor economist at the Census Bureau whose report appeared in the Monthly Labor Review, published by the Department of Labor, jobs within the domain of highly skilled and educated persons shrunk during the 1990-91 recession, from 53.6 percent to 48.4 percent between 1989 and 1991. And there is no indication that this trend will change as industry and businesses continue with downsizing and massive layoffs of workers in all categories.

The shift and change in the labor market has become more pronounced among college graduates. In fact, 30 percent of those graduating from college this decade could end up unemployed, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A piece of sheepskin does not guarantee upward mobility nor a job in the field or subject of matriculation.

Data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau is not too encouraging. In just three years, the income of the average college-educated male in his 20s has dropped significantly--from $31,829 in 1989 to $27,782 in 1991. In terms of income in 1991, young college graduates are no better off than they were in 1983. (The Census Bureau reports that the greatest drop in American incomes were those households headed by persons in the 15-24 age group whose incomes fell by 5.8 percent.)

The youth of America should have realized long ago that their future, and that of the country, is bleak and can only get worse in an economic system that is geared to financial considerations and profits. All of the ballyhoo about getting a higher education needs to be reevaluated. What is the purpose and the objective? Education for what?

Why is it that no college or university teaches or offers a course in the dynamics of social change where the knowledge and expertise of the nation can be used and applied in a way where all of the country's resources are mobilized to provide a harmonious and quality lifestyle for every American citizen?

More than 10,000 persons turned out on a cold morning in Detroit, lining up in response to the mere possibility of a full or part-time job. A job in an automobile factory? No. A casino! (The Tampa Tribune 11-1993)