April 29, 2012

The Jobless Generation

/TIME, April 16, 2012, Page 22-27/

Introduction

   This topic is crucial to my generations. Why is the labor market for young people loosing its balance, and why even best students feel hard to survive?

Briefing

   Jobless young generation is a common issue all over the world, whether they live in advanced economy or emerging economy. The International Labor Organization reported that 2 out of 5 people aged 15 to 24 are globally unemployed, though the proportion of such a population is different in regions and nations. The situation of labor market is desperate for the young, even for the well-educated young.

   Why is the mismatch of the entry labor supply and demand expanding? The root of the problem is the global economic stagnation after the financial crisis in 2008, but the direct reason is inflexible labor market. The protection of full-time laborer is remarkable in every country, which suppress the company’s demand for young labor force. Moreover, the supplier of entry workers include a problem. Higher educational institution, say university, tends to misguide its student to courses that is mismatched with the needs of economy. 

   These structural inefficiency needs to be fixed immediately. A large number of young people are wasting their time under unemployment, some of them are talented and highly educated. Without any improvement, the situation will get worse than wasting time. Most of the young unemployed are frustrated, loosing their way, and potential to be violent. In addition, loosing the job experiences and skills in the early stage of their career may deprive their chance to get employed in the rest of the life.

Opinion

   In my opinion as a graduate student, unbalanced labor market for young people is mainly caused by lack of adaptation of advanced education to the changing world. The conventional economy, in Japan’s case, have never expected the university to make its student ready for the entry to the job. But no longer now. Higher educational institutes might need to change themselves to meet the demand for experienced and productive 1st year businessman.