2012 Unemployment Rates: 1 in 2 Recent Graduates Are Under- or Unemployed

Impact

I thought that job-seeking was tough in 1983 when I graduated from college. But it turns out that give one in five graduates in 1983 were under- or unemployed, we had it easy compared to today where more than more than half of the class of 2012 is under- or unemployed. This statistic is alarming. Something dire continues to haunt our economy and it's not going away.

I've got a radical suggestion. Do something. Anything. Millennials need to hustle. Quit listening to Washington pundits. Quit reading negative news reports about how tough it is to get a job these days.

New graduates should re-orient their thinking to the rest of this decade and beyond. Don't accept what others tell you can and cannot be done. Multitasking has its disadvantages, but media savvy has many advantages – mobility among them. Recent grads in areas with few jobs in their area can consider moving to an area with jobs, such as Texas, or consider working remotely online. The company you work for does not have to be in your area. It could be halfway around the world. 

Further, ff you can't find the job that's right for you, make your own. Sounds hard? What's preferable – endless hours pouring coffee and playing Call of Duty 24/7 or trying to start your own business? If enough recent grads can successfully start their own businesses and see them succeed, not only will they be employed, they'll be able to employ other recent grads. Here is one of the best places to get started.

Writers such as Anya Kamenetz, who is known for suggesting that 16-year-old should be able to vote, are advocating that students should be able to be absolved of student loans should in bankruptcy proceedings. Keeping student loan rates low and letting unemployed graduates discharge their debts in bankruptcy will help them get jobs, won't it? (I was going to say stop listening to media mavens like Anya Kamenetz, but to be fair, her project DIY U is a great informal and distributed learning concept – Anya's doing something.)

How did I get started in a difficult job environment, though nowhere near as bad as today? Car sales, racing school secretary, newspaper writer, small radio station news reader. My degrees? British-American Literature, Studio Art – and MFA Creative Writing. I'll always regret not taking that job at Pork Quarterly. If I had, just think about how much I'd know about pork today.