The Class of 2017 ReportByTeresa KroegerandElise GouldMay 4,2017 What this report fnds:After years of elevated unemployment and depressed wages, young graduates’ economic prospects have fnally begun to brighten. Members of the Class of 2017 have better job prospects than their peers who graduated in the aftermath of the Great Recession. Unemployment rates for young high school and young college graduates have returned to within one percentage point of their pre-recession levels and wages are continuing to slowly recover. While young high school graduates on average are still paid less than they were in 2007(adjusted for infation), the average wages of young college graduates have fnally surpassed the 2007 level. Yet the economy of 2007 is a low bar for economic opportunity. Relative to the full employment economy of the late 1990s and 2000, the shares of young graduates who are unemployed and underemployed, and generally “idled” by the economy (neither working nor in school), are still quite high. And economic growth has not yet reached all corners of the labor market. Unemployment rates for young black and Hispanic graduates entering the workforce are still substantially higher than that of their white peers. Young female graduates are paid less than their male peers directly out of school, when they have fairly comparable labor market experience. We need the economy to continue toward full employment in order to ensure healthy job prospects and decent wages for all young graduates. How we can improve the job prospects and wages of young graduates:The policy solutions to lower unemployment rates of young high school and college graduates and lift their pay are the same solutions needed to help all workers: Keep interest rates low until the economy strengthens and gets back to full employment Raise the minimum wage Make it easier for workers to bargain collectively for higher wages Make more workers eligible for overtime pay Combat wage theft by employers Provide earned sick time and paid family leaveProvide undocumented workers a path to citizenship (which will give these workers and native workers in similar felds of work more leverage to command higher pay) End discriminatory practices that contribute to race and gender inequities These policies are articulated in EPI’sAgenda to Raise America’s Pay. Introduction and key fndings The Great Recession and its aftermath have had long-lasting efects on the employment prospects of young people entering the workforce after graduating from high school or college. Despite ofcially ending in June 2009, the recession has left millions of people unemployed for extended spells, with recent workforce entrants such as young graduates particularly vulnerable to unemployment. The slow pace of the recovery has meant that, since 2007, students have graduated into an acutely weak labor market and have had to compete with more-experienced workers for a limited number of job opportunities. But after a long and sluggish recovery, young graduates’ economic prospects have fnally begun to look up. Sustained improvements in economic conditions in recent yearshave brightened young graduates’ job prospects for employment and wage growth, particularly for those graduating from college. Young workers are taking notice of the stronger labor market: Among 18- to 30-year-olds surveyed in 2015,61 percent were optimistic about their employment opportunities—up from 45 percent in 2013(Federal Reserve Board 2016). This paper focuses on recent high school graduates (age 17–20) and college graduates (age 21–24) who are not enrolled in further schooling. We analyze their employment, enrollment, and wage trends in order to glean the Class of 2017’s economic prospects as they start their careers. While by many measures the labor market for young graduates is now almost or fully back to where it was before the recession, the economy of 2007 represents a low bar for economic opportunity. We should instead strive for the full employment economy of the late 1990s and 2000, one in which the strong economy translated into better opportunities for workers across the labor market. The economy needs to continue on track toward full employment for economic growth to reach all corners of the labor market. Due to the progression of the economic recovery and a substantial improvement in the unemployment rate, members of the Class of 2017 currently have better job prospects than the classes of 2009–2016. However, compared with those who graduated into the 2000 labor market, the Class of 2017 still faces real economic challenges, as demonstrated by elevated levels of unemployment and underemployment, and the large share of graduates who still remain “idled” by the economy (because they are neither enrolled in further schooling nor employed). Furthermore, the overall measures mask large gaps in employment outcomes between young graduates of diferent races and genders—some of which have worsened since the Great Recession.Key fndings include: The labor market for young graduates remains weaker today than it was in 2000 or 2007. There is nothing unique about the Great Recession and its aftermath that afected young people in particular. Rather, young workers always experience disproportionate increases in unemployment during periods of labor market weakness—and the Great Recession and its aftermath constituted the longest, most severe period of economic weakness in more than seven decades. High school graduates matter. Only 36.7 percent of people in their prime working years (age 25 to 54) have a bachelor’s degree or higher, while 36.3 percent have a high school diploma or less. We need an economy that works for everyone not just those with the highest credentials. Access to good jobs for those without a college degree is especially critical, as stable employment allows them to build a career or pay for further schooling. Unemployment among young graduates is close to where it was in 2007 but still far higher than in 2000.Unemployment rates among young graduates have nearly returned to where they were before the recession. Yet the unemployment rates for young graduates today remain much higher than unemployment rates for young graduates in the full employment economy of 2000. For young high school graduates, the unemployment rate is 16.9 percent (compared with 15.9 percent in 2007 and 12.1 percent in 2000). Among young high school graduates, the unemployment rate for men has nearly returned to its pre-recession level while the unemployment rate for women is still elevated. Neither men nor women have reached the unemployment rates of the full employment economy of 2000. For young college graduates, the unemployment rate is currently 5.6 percent (compared with 5.5 percent in 2007 and 4.3 percent in 2000). Among young college graduates, women have made a full recovery since the recession and reached the unemployment rate they had in 2000—4.4 percent. Their male peers have made progress at a slower pace. At 7.1 percent, their unemployment rate comes close to their 2007 unemployment rate (6.6 percent) but far from that of 2000(4.1 percent). Under employment rates among young graduates have improved but remain higher than before the recession began. In addition to the unemployed (jobless workers who report that they are actively seeking work), the underemployment rate also includes those who are “involuntary” part-timers (those who work part time but want full-time work) and “marginally attached” workers (those who want a job and have looked for work in the last year but have given up actively seeking work in the last four weeks). For young high school graduates, the underemployment rate is 30.9 percent (compared with 26.8 percent in 2007 and 20.8 percent in 2000). For young college graduates, the underemployment rate is 11.9 percent (compared with 9.6 percent in 2007 and 7.1 percent in 2000).。。。以上简介无排版格式，详细内容请下载查看