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Justin Lopez Professor Lago English 1100 November 06, 2013 Jobs, Where Art Thou?

Many citizens in America expect job opportunity ready and available for them. While working, the average citizen can provide for their family and themselves. Unemployment is one of the most serious issues facing the United States in the twenty first century. Unemployment is one of the many scares in the workforce. I have been told many times that my generation is the future for America. Unavailable jobs can effect young teens, adults and even college students. As citizens of the United States, paying attention to the job market is important. Because of changing job markets in the economy; citizens are having trouble finding jobs. Citizens of all ages are having trouble finding jobs. Jobs back in the day could have come as easy as someone walking into the store and asking if they are hiring but now that barely happens. Now, to get a job, people need to have a high school diploma, all different types of skills, and even a college diploma. I feel like the economy will continue to change just like science because there is always something new introduced in the world. For example, America changed once Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced credit and governmental assistances. Still there is no excuse why jobs are unavailable. Jobs could be so scarce due to outsourcing or maybe because of flux in competition there are some many key contributors to this problem that six pages are not even enough to cover all of them. It just astonishes me how jobs are unavailable and the average man or women struggle everyday with all of these requirements and scarcity because of the changing job market.

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Good paying jobs are such a necessity for survival in America. Without a job it is extremely tough to raise a family and maintain a well balanced life. Maybe this is not something college students want to hear but it is troubling everyday seeing homeless people living on the street. The couple towns down from mine, East Orange, I see people all the time in the middle of the streets politely asking for some change to get some food or buy clothes to warm their bodies during these cold days to come. That is a really sad thing to see. Seeing our own United States citizens homeless on the streets because they cannot afford a place to live without a job., is the saddest thing to see. Americans homeless sleeping in the subways and on park benches I mean who wants to live like that? I know I do not but some people have no choice because they cannot seem to find a job. No job means no money and no money means no food or shelter for one self or their loved ones. Unemployment affects the way a families live their lives. No student looks up to becoming homeless no college students look forward to graduating college with a PhD in something. It is important to focus and pay attention in school because becoming homeless can be one of the worst things that can happen to someone. My only fear is to become homeless and not know if I will have enough money to eat or even put shoes on my feet. Changes in the job market are happening for a reason, so do not be that guy who doesnt care about his future and one day be stuck living on the streets without food or shelter. All ages of men and women have trouble finding jobs. It is tough on the older generation to find jobs but believe it or not, the younger generation is having a tougher time finding jobs. Due to the small recession one can say we are basically going through, it has become hard somewhat even impossible for kids of my age group to find a job. More teens have lost their job in the last six years than adults have which makes me wonder if I will how a safe and secure job in the near future. The percent of jobs available for the older generations have decreased yes but

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for the younger generations, jobs are decreasing at a second rate lower than those jobs of the older generations. From 2007 to 2009, the number of employed teens in the U.S. declined by nearly 25 percent, according to the National Youth Employment Coalition, while the number of 20- to 24-year-olds with jobs fell by nearly 11 percent( Barbara Marshall). I do not know who can disagree with me but I believe eleven percent is a better way to get a job then twenty five percent when looking at jobs available for the older generations in contrast to the younger generations. The economy needs to increase because eleven may not be as high as twenty five percent but still eleven is a low percentage rate for finding a job. I would rather see the unemployment rate be at a percentage lower than eleven more like one and maybe one day that will happen but until then, the older generation should be happy with their eleven percent because the younger generation in facing a worse percentage sitting at twenty five. To some people, having a job means everything and not having one can be devastating. Not having a job means no money and can have someone feeling awfully hopeless. There are scientific studies showing that because of the economic job market low, depression has stricken the minds of many individuals. Numerous studies have documented a relationship between disadvantaged socioeconomic status (SES) and symptoms of depression (Krysia Mossakowski). Being depressed can come easy and is not always expected. When someone has a job for twenty years and as they enter that twenty first year of working at that particular job, something bad happens, it can take a toll on ones mental stability. Certain feelings like stress, depression, sadness and other horrible feelings start to come up all because the job market gets bad. I agree that being unemployed can welcome depression because without a job for a long period time means no amount of time income is coming in. Some groundbreaking longitudinal studies have demonstrated that past unemployment at multiple points in time predicts symptoms of

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depression(Krysia Mossakowski). Science never stops amazing me and now science once again provides some light on how the struggling job market can cause signs of depression in the average American. Sometimes going in to social security and governmental pay maybe the only means of survival one must take. Digging in to social security can be a bad thing though. Social security was originally meant to help people when they can no longer help themselves by means of work. Now as a result of unemployment and the changes in the job market, people might not even have enough time to work in their life to build up their social security or retirement fund. Right now, I am working which is helping those people before me who are ready for retirement, build up their retirement fund. If unemployment continues then my generation will not be able to provide for those people who are ready for retirement. The retirement rate is now increasing so that the social security deficit can significantly decrease. According to the Senate Committee on Aging, increasing the retirement age would cut less than one third of the Social Security deficit. An increase in the retirement age is a reflection of the way Americans work( David Francis). The retirement age can be extended from the average age of fifty-five to almost seventy years of age due to my generation not being able to find work. The social security deficit is increasing because people are going into their social security funds too early and not working to decrease the social security deficit. I personally blame the baby boom back in the sixties but that is just a small part of why the retirement age is being increased. Rates of unemployment are at an all time high. As of August 2013, New Jersey is the tenth unemployed state in America sitting at eight percent. This percent might not seem a lot but it adds up when comparing it to other states like North Dakota and South Dakota were their unemployed rate is only three. America as a whole has an unemployment rate sitting at seven

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percent. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, six percent of veterans were unemployed in September 2013, compared to the national average of seven percent (Peter Diamond). Even our veterans who served for this country so that we the people can go on being free, comfortable, and safe everyday are suffering from unemployment scares. Without citizens working, people do not have money for food or money to pay the bills and as a result, are suffering and go on for days without eating. It is extremely important to have a circulation of work and money follow because not only is money important for survival but also America is in a huge debt. The unemployment rates are not helping knock down the nation debt that sits on the United States head. I know I am repeating a lot of facts containing money but in the United States of America, without money, it is hopeless to survive. To emphasize how much of a problem unemployment is, I look at key factors happening in America. There are many people popping into their social security and depending on government funding for lifelong assistants. It is important for oneself to know that depending on governmental assistants is not living life to the fullest. To achieve that life, one should pay attention to unemployment rates and become more focused on the task at hand. The future will set itself on its own that is why it is important to focus on life right now and by that I mean the present. Jobs are not ensured and will come and go in ones life as long as you stay one step ahead of the completion. I know I do not want to come fresh out of college with a low GPA wondering why I didnt get hired and say what if. Students need to know one of the greatest threats facing our country which is unemployment. People do not simply need to know what unemployment is or how we can avoid; people and I myself need to know the results of these high employment rates. It is important to finish and give college one hundred percent of your time and devotion because no one knows what the job market will look like ten years from now.

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If it is too hard to get a job, maybe that type of job is not what is right for that person. Certain accreditations like volunteer work, internships and other skills can help because they all look good on paper. The counter argument though is that someone may only know one skill and for years they mastered and enhanced their skills in that particular field. It is not easy for one to just opt out of a job in a law firm or an accountant and apply for a new job far off from those like chemistry or advance biotechnology. Of course there are many jobs out there but trying to just leaving the particular field someone is really good at is hard. Instead of giving up on that job when times get tough, start studying more and finding out how to be advance oneself in that field because times are changing and in science for example, studies from twenty years ago are changing daily so it is always good to stay ahead in your field. If one does pursue a new job in a different field though, that person will be at the bottom of the barrel because starting that new skill comes with new experiences one must learn and those experiences the competition already knows therefore they are one step ahead. The small availability of jobs in the job market causes people to act like they do not have the right amount of requirements in the field that they currently work in. The job market just needs to get better so that people can be secure in the field they studied to be in. The low unemployment rates may not mean anything to some people but to me it is everything. Basically my future depends on my studies but most importantly the availability of jobs out there. The job I think I will have when coming out of college I hope is in the medical field but I may never know due to the changes in the work environment. Honestly only time can truly tell, lets just hope that the job market blooms, like a dandelion during the spring season, in the next five years.