年輕人就業率最低的十大州

這裡的年輕人，指的是20到24歲之間的男女。在這個年齡的人，很多人應該呆在學校當學生的。而需要就業的那些人，自然就是高中畢業之後直接工作的“上班簇”了。就我個人的經驗，這樣的人，要麼是“水平”太低（學業成績太差），要麼就是家庭經濟條件有限。前者的數量畢竟有限，多的是後者。

他們要麼因為家庭的原因，而對教育重視不起來，要麼，即使自己能夠上大學，家庭也拿不出資金來給他們深造的機會。

我的雇員之中的很大一部分，就是來自這個年齡層。他們之中的很多人，實際上也是勤勞的公民。只要是有相對比較好的機會，他們還是非常的願意，為了一個好的生活而勤奮工作的。說普通美國人不勤奮，是對美國這個國家的極大誤解。

他們之中的很多人也是好樣的！

由於“出身”不好，於是乎，他們就不得不早早的進入就業市場去謀生。

可是，由於沒有專長，也沒有經驗，他們自然也很難做什麼高薪的工作。在政府強制性的通過提高最低薪水，意在保護這批弱者之後，他們之中的很多人，又因為人工成本的提高，而讓雇主減少了僱傭他們的意願。結果就是適得其反，政客們獲得了選票，他們口中保護的弱勢群體卻遭受更大的傷害。而納稅人也因此而不得不承當更多的義務。

這批年齡的人的就業狀況，對於經濟復甦，是一個值得關注的，不錯的晴雨表。

賭城的年輕人失業率高，也從一個側面說明了，有閒錢的人越來越少。同時，在各地為了擴充財路，在自己的本土開發賭場資源之後，賭城的生意自然也就會越來越差了。即使在我們這個歷來非常保守的俄亥俄州，目前都已經有四大賭場在營業。

在今後，拉斯維加斯這樣的賭城的日子，將會越來越不好過。說不定，就有那麼一天，拉斯維加斯都沒有存在的價值了：那裡昂貴的生活成本和維持費用（沙漠。水源···），在離開了賭博這個立足之本之後，又能夠靠什麼來支撐呢？

經濟應該很發達的華盛頓州、加州、北卡，也被名列其中，說明那裡的服務業還是不太景氣？因為，對於這個年齡的人，多數應該在服務業幹活才對。特別是在美國的製造業的經營規模已經變得越來越小之後。

而密西西比州則名列第一。

 為什麼中國人勤而不富（2）：學院派的分析

Ten States Where Young People Can’t Find Work

July 23, 2012 by 247wallst

Unemployment in the United States has been a hot-button issue since the Great Recession left millions out of work. While the employment picture has begun to improve, albeit slowly, one group that still is in particular trouble is those aged 20 to 24 years old.

While unemployment rates rose during the recession, they shot up much more dramatically for the part of our population that had just graduated from college. In several states, the unemployment for young Americans is alarmingly high. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed historical unemployment data for the U.S. population aged 20 to 24 by state to identify the 10 states with the most unemployed young people.

Unemployment trends among young Americans tracks with national trends. Between 2009 and 2010, the national rate rose from 9.3% to 9.6%, while the rate for those 20 to 24 increased from 14.7% to 15.5%. Between 2010 and 2011, the national job market showed signs of recovery and the unemployment rate fell to 8.9%. In that same period, the rate for young adults fell to 14.6% — a rate still nearly double that of the country as a whole.

Historically, things are as bad for young adults in these states as they have been in at least 39 years. Compared to 2001, when the nation was in the middle of its last major recession, the national unemployment rate was roughly the same as it was in 2011. However, the unemployment rate for 20 to 24 year olds was substantially higher. In nine of the states on our list, unemployment rates among this age group were higher than in 1981. In four cases, it is five percentage points higher.

There appear to be several common trends among the states on our list. Those states with high unemployment among the young have some of the highest proportions of residents without at least a high school diploma. All of the top three states with high youth unemployment were among the 10 with the lowest percentage of 20 to 24 year olds with high school diplomas.

These states are also, for the most part, extremely poor. Six of them have among the lowest median income in the country. Mississippi, which had the highest youth unemployment in the country in 2011, also had the lowest median income in the country in 2010, the most recent available year. As evidence of the extreme poverty in these states, many of these states have among the highest percentages of residents receiving food stamps. In Tennessee, for example, 17% of residents received food stamps in 2010, the second-highest proportion in the country.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed historical unemployment figures for each of the 50 states provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS provides unemployment rates for a variety of age groups, including those aged 16 to 19. However, these ages were excluded because such a large percentage has yet to enter the job market. 24/7 Wall St. also examined overall unemployment rates for 2009, 2010 and 2011 from the BLS. Statistics on educational attainment, median income and poverty from the U.S. Census Bureau were also reviewed.

These are the 10 states where young people cannot find work.

10. Nevada
> 2011 unemployment rate (ages 20-24): 16.7%
> 2011 total state unemployment rate: 13.5%

The unemployment rate of people aged 20 to 24 years old in Nevada was far lower in previous years. In 2007 it was as low as 5.4%. In recent years, however, the unemployment rate for this age group skyrocketed, reaching 16.7% in 2011, an increase of 11.3 percentage points. Likewise, the state’s total unemployment rate rose from 11.6% in 2009 to 13.5% last year — the highest unemployment rate of any state. Recent declines in the state’s total unemployment rate have led the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation to announce the elimination of Nevada’s State Extended Benefits unemployment insurance program.

9. West Virginia
> 2011 unemployment rate (ages 20-24): 17.2%
> 2011 total state unemployment rate: 8%

Young West Virginians had trouble finding jobs relative to older residents; the group’s unemployment rate was more than double the state total rate. Nationwide, West Virginia had the smallest proportion of people aged 18 to 24 with a higher education — only 11.5% held a bachelor’s degree or higher, according to the most recent Census data. This is inline with the older population, as only 17.5% of West Virginians over 25 held a bachelor’s degree or higher, which is also the lowest proportion in the country. The low levels of residents with bachelor’s and advanced degrees contribute to the low median income of $38,218 in the state — second lowest after Mississippi.

8. California
> 2011 unemployment rate (ages 20-24): 17.6%
> 2011 total state unemployment rate: 11.7%

From 2007 to 2011, California’s unemployment rate for people aged 20 to 24 rose from 8.9% to 17.6%. Though this was well above California’s total unemployment rate of 11.7% for 2011, the 20- to 24-year-old unemployment rate declined 1.4 percentage points from 2010 to 2011 while the state’s total unemployment rate fell just 0.7 percentage points, from 12.4% in 2010. Young Californians were likely to be well educated, as 26.5% of those between 18 and 24 had bachelor’s degrees in 2010, the fourth highest proportion among all states and well above the 21.3% for the nation as a whole.

7. Washington
> 2011 unemployment rate (ages 20-24): 17.7%
> 2011 total state unemployment rate: 9.2%

The unemployment rate for young adults in Washington in 2011 was more than twice the rate it was in 2008. While the total unemployment rate for Washington has been slightly higher than the national average for the past three years, the gap between youth and total unemployment has been steadily increasing since 2008. Some conservative groups in Washington are blaming the state’s minimum wage of $9.04 — currently the highest in the country — for the elevated levels of youth unemployment.

6. Kentucky 
> 2011 unemployment rate (ages 20-24): 17.9%
> 2011 total state unemployment rate: 9.5%

Kentucky is one of a number of states in the southeastern U.S. where young people have extreme difficulty finding a job. One issue for the state is that, according to the Census Bureau, just 13.7% of Kentuckians aged 18 to 24 had a bachelor’s degree, the second-lowest proportion among all states. Yet many state residents cannot afford to invest in the education necessary to compete in the modern workforce, as median household income in 2010 was just $40,062, the fourth-lowest in the United States. One positive sign for young people living in Kentucky, however, is that baby boomers are retiring at a faster rate than new, young workers can enter the workforce, according to the Kentucky Office of Employment and Training.

5. Tennessee
> 2011 unemployment rate (ages 20-24): 18.3%
> 2011 total state unemployment rate: 9.2%

For Tennessee’s youth, the unemployment rate went up 2.7 percentage points between 2010 and 2011, the second-highest jump in the country. The state has some of the smallest proportions of people holding bachelor’s or advanced degrees, and the second-highest proportion of people on food stamps or enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program at 17%. Tennessee’s state government has recently undertaken an initiative called the Pathways to Prosperity Network to help young people get jobs by focusing on career preparation for high school students who do not go to college.

4. North Carolina
> 2011 unemployment rate (ages 20-24): 19.6%%
> 2011 total state unemployment rate: 10.5%

Last year, the unemployment rate for people aged 20 to 24 was five percentage points higher in North Carolina than the nationwide rate of 14.6%. Between 2007 and 2011, the proportion of North Carolinians in this age group who were unemployed more than doubled, rising from 8.3% to 19.6% over four years. This increase of 11.3 percentage points was the second highest among all states in the country for that period. The number of unemployed young workers in that age range rose by roughly 58,000 statewide at that time. In order to better prepare young adults for work, North Carolina, along with Tennessee and four other states, joined the Pathways to Prosperity Network.

3. South Carolina
> 2011 unemployment rate (ages 20-24): 19.9%
> 2011 total state unemployment rate: 10.3%

South Carolina’s unemployment rate for people aged 20 to 24 has ranked among the 10 highest in the country, for each of the past five years. Close to 20% of 18 to 24 year olds in South Carolina had not completed high school as of 2010.

2. Alabama
> 2011 unemployment rate (ages 20-24): 20.2%
> 2011 total state unemployment rate: 9%

Alabama’s overall unemployment rate of 9% in 2011 was only slightly above the U.S. average of 8.9%. However, young people were not as competitive as the rest of the state’s labor force, with an unemployment rate well above the national rate of 14.6% for those aged 20 to 24. The year prior, Alabama had the nation’s worst unemployment rate for this age group at 20.9%. Though Alabama no longer qualifies as the worst state for young job seekers, the number of Alabamians who were unemployed fell by just 2,000 between 2010 and 2011, after rising by 22,000 between 2007 and 2011.

1. Mississippi
> 2011 unemployment rate (ages 20-24): 22.2%
> 2011 total state unemployment rate: 10.7%

Unemployment for those aged 20 to 24 has been a problem for Mississippi in previous years, and it further increased by 4.4 percentage points between 2010 and 2011. The total unemployment rate in the state has been higher than the national average for the past three years. Mississippi has a very low proportion of people who have attained a bachelor’s degree or higher — less than 20% of those 25 or older had attained higher education as of 2010, the second lowest in the country. Highly correlated to education is income, and Mississippi had the country’s smallest median income of $36,851 in 2011.

Michael B. Sauter, Alexander E. M. Hess and Lisa Nelson

為什麼中國人勤而不富（2）：學院派的分析