Focus News
By Freddie Allen
NNPA Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Blacks with
college degrees continue to fare worse than
college-educated Whites in the labor mar-
ket, according to a new report by the
Economic Policy Institute (EPI).
The report titled, “The Class of 2014: The
Weak Economy Is Idling Too Many Young
Graduates,” looked at the job prospects for
high school graduates and college graduates
during the Great Recession and the current
economic recovery.
“Unemployment of young graduates is
extremely high today, not because of some-
thing unique about the Great Recession and
its aftermath that has affected young people
in particular,” stated the report written by
Heidi Shierholz, Alyssa Davis and Will
Kimball of EPI. “Rather, it is high because
young workers always experience dispro-
portionate increases in unemployment
during periods of labor market weakness.”
The report said that the unemployment
rate for Black high school graduates (17-20
years-old) rose from 30.4 percent in 2007 to
41.2 percent in 2011 and decreased to 34.7
percent. The jobless rate for young, White
high school graduates was 13.1 percent in
2007, peaked at 24 percent in 2010, and
edged down to 19.4 percent.
Young Black college graduates also suf-
fered high rates of unemployment following
the Great Recession. In 2007, the jobless
rate for young college-educated Blacks was
8.1 percent, but by 2010, a year after the
official end of the recession, that rate bal-
looned to 20 percent. The report said that
the jobless rate for this group of workers
has improved to 13.1 percent.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for
White college graduates never reached dou-
ble digits, even during the Great Recession.
“Among young, White non-Hispanic col-
lege graduates, the unemployment rate was
5.1 percent in 2007, rose to 8.6 percent in
2011, and improved to 8.0 percent,” stated
the report.
The report said that high unemployment
among recent college graduates is not
because of a lack of education or skills for
available jobs, “rather it stems from weak
demand for goods and services, which
makes it unnecessary for employers to sig-
nificantly ramp up hiring.”
High school graduates and college gradu-
ates also earn less than they did nearly 15
years ago.
“The real (inflation-adjusted) wages of
young high school graduates have dropped
10.8 percent, and those of young college
graduates have dropped 7.7 percent,” stated
the report.
That means that, high school graduates
lost about $2,500 in annual earnings and
young college graduates lost approximately
$3,000 since 2000.
Despite the common belief that college
students often “shelter in school,” waiting
until the economy improves, skyrocketing
costs associated with higher education and
enormous debt force many graduates to
seek any work that they can find.
During the 2013-2014 academic year, the
average total costs to attend a four-year in-
We honor the many
accomplishments of African
Americans.
It is our primary goal as a
labor union to better the
lives of all people working
in the building trades
through advocacy, civil
demonstration, and the
long-held belief that work-
ers deserve a "family wage" - fair pay for an honest day's work.
A family wage, and the benefits that go with it, not only strength-
ens families, but also allows our communities to become
stronger, more cohesive, and more responsive to their citizens'
needs.
Our family wage agenda reflects our commitment to people
working in the building trades, and to workers everywhere. In this
small way, we are doing our part to help people achieve the
American Dream. This dream that workers can hold dear regard-
less of race, color, national origin, gender, creed, or religious
beliefs.
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NNPA PHOTO BY FREDDIE ALLEN
Report: College Education Not an Equalizer
Happy college ending but uncertain future.
state public school was $22,826. The aver-
age costs for a four-year private school was
twice that at $44,750.
“From the 1983–1984 enrollment year to
the 2012–2013 enrollment year, the infla-
tion-adjusted cost of a four-year education,
including tuition, fees, and room and board,
increased 125.5 percent for private school
and 129.1 percent for public school,” the
report said. “Median family income only
increased 15.6 percent over this period,
leaving families and students unable to pay
for most colleges and universities in full.”
College costs combined with a weak
economy means that students that graduate
in 2015, 2016, and 2017 will encounter
similar high jobless rates and lost earnings.
“They’ll never get those lost earnings
back, those 10-15 years of reduced earn-
ings, said EPI’s Heidi Shierholz. “That’s
just gone.”
She said that the high unemployment that
young workers are facing right now is part
The Skanner’s Lisa Loving
Honored by Journalism Group
E
ach year the Oregon and Washington
chapter of the Society of Professional
Journalists honor some of their own
at the Mark of Excellence Awards gala din-
ner.
The Skanner’s news editor, Lisa Loving,
was runner up in two categories: Social
Issues and Governmental reporting for her
investigative rews story: State Advocacy
Chair Apologises for Racially Insensitive
Remarks.
Les Zaitz of the Oregonian won the Bruc
Baer awards for his series about drug cartels
in the Northwest.
Writers and photographers at The Oregon-
ian and The Seattle Times, took most of the
prizes in the largest newspaper category.
Journalists also found excellence among
their peers at OPB; KUOW, King TV,
Crosscut.com, Portland Monthly, Seattle
magazine, The Columbian, The Bulletin,
The Tri-City Herald, the Spokesman
Review, the Seattle Weekly, Willamette
Week, and the Missoula Independent.
Movies
continued from page 6
impress a customer (Han-
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Page 8 The Portland and Seattle Skanner May 21, 2014
and parcel of the high unemployment that’s
going on in the labor market as a whole.
“That means the solutions that will bring
the unemployment rate down more broadly
are also the same solutions that will bring
the unemployment rate of young workers
down,” she said.
The report recommended restarting long-
term emergency unemployment benefits,
instituting work sharing programs to avoid
layoffs, and allowing earlier access into
Social Security and Medicare programs for
older workers to improve job prospects for
all workers, especially young workers.
The report concluded: “The bottom line is
that policies that will generate demand for
U.S. goods and services (and therefore
demand for workers who provide them), or
policies that would spread the total hours of
work across more workers, are the keys to
giving young people a fighting chance as
they enter the labor market during the after-
math of the Great Recession.”
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