High School graduates without higher education have seen their incomes decline substantially before and since the onset of the Great Recession. Additionally, a report to Congress by the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance noted college enrollment for low income high school graduates declined to 40 percent in 2004 from 52 percent in 1992. The Wall Street Journal noted:
If that trend has continued, low- and moderate-income students who don’t move on to college face an even darker outlook. The unemployment rate for 16- to 19-year olds averaged 17% in 2004, the jobless rate for people over age 25 with just a high school diploma averaged 5% the same year. So far this year, those figures have jumped to 25.8% and 10.6%, respectively.
Additionally, the BLS reports:
In October 2009, 70.1 percent of 2009 high school graduates were enrolled in colleges or universities, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This was a historical high for the series, which began in 1959. Recent high school graduates not enrolled in college in October 2009 were more likely than enrolled graduates to be in the labor force (70.0 compared with 42.1 percent).
The unemployment rate for recent high school graduates not enrolled in school was 35.0 percent, compared with 23.7 percent for graduates enrolled in college.
Imagine what starting out is like for someone graduating high school but not interested in going to college. If these two sets of statistics are correct, even though there are large numbers of recent graduates who attend college, a huge number of them do not complete matriculation. When they join the labor force, the prospects are slim. Obviously, the astronomical rise in the cost of attending college coupled with the decline in middle and lower class income has taken a tremendous toll on young students. They can't afford college and they can't get a job. And for those who do get a job, there is this:
In 2008, the median of the earnings of young adults with a bachelor's degree was $46,000, while the median was $36,000 for those with an associate's degree, $30,000 for those with a high school diploma or its equivalent, and $23,500 for those who did not earn a high school diploma or its equivalent.
In 2008 dollars, the median earnings for a high school graduate was in 1980 was $36,600.
What to do? Go to college, and you face costs that may leave you saddled with debt and no degree. Choose not to go, and you face a horrendous job market and meager wages if you find a job. For minorities and women, it isn't a Great Recession. It is a full-on 1930's style Great Depression. This is the America we are bring our future into. It is no wonder that the military is the only place of refuge for high school graduates from low income families. It is an anecdote, but a family member of mine has been waiting five months to ship out for Army basic training. The waiting list is that long.
This, in my opinion, constitutes the worst consequence of our economy. It is terrible when the middle-aged or seniors lose their homes and their jobs. It is tragic that those who have the energy, idealism, and optimism to renew our nation face such reckless disregard for their strength, talents, and sheer vibrancy. We have a multitude of young people who will may not even get the chance to lose everything in an economic crash.
Everyone isn't cut out for higher education. There are some young people who have a more mechanical bent or prefer to work with their hands. There are those with artistic or athletic talents who haven't won their lucky ticket to the big leagues. Circumstances for the poor, such as becoming a young parent or coming up in the foster-care system are coupled with a public school system that is strained of resources. Many aren't ready for college. Worse, the Great Recession has brought a substantial decline in retail employment that has made even the lowest-wage, entry-level job scarce for young people who probably feel lucky they even managed to graduate high school.
Starting out is a hard to do under most circumstances, but these days are particularly challenging. This is important because the lifetime habits of these young people are going to be shaped by what they do now. We as a nation cannot simply sit idly by while a generation of young people misses out on even a decent shot at earning a decent living. It is an act of national suicide for any country to neglect its youth.
We have to do more to help these young people get a good start. We have to modify our trade policies so that these young folks get a chance to do some work with their hands and their backs and earn enough to make a living in the process. We have to raise minimum wage and index it for inflation. This nation must do more to make sure that all young people starting out get the opportunity to get a piece of the action, and not just those who finish college.