Education has become a key tool to success in many societies around the globe. Education has become highly valued because of the form of capitalist world we live in. Different nations around the world are working towards having a growing GDP as a symbol of growing economy. Through education, people gain knowledge and skills that are treasured in the job market. This indicates that people who are uneducated tend to be segregated in the job market because they do not possess the required skills thereby, making education an important factor in the society. It is also crucial to note that one’s level of education affects their pay in respect to their jobs. For example, people who have earned a doctorate degree tend to be paid higher compared to those whose highest academic study is high school (Haugen 32). In addition, people with less education are the first one to be laid off in case of a recession. During the economic recession of 2008 in the US, most people who were laid off their work were those who had less experience and low education level. Thus, this paper will examine and discuss how unemployment and education are intertwined.
According to the US Bureau of Labor of Statistics, the current unemployment level of the country is 7.3%. In addition, the Bureau of statistics accounted 29.5% of unemployment level to the people who dropped out of school and 39.7% to people with a high school diploma. This shows how people with less educational background are less marketable in the job market. However, people with masters accounted for only 1.6% of the US unemployment rate. This is because people with high level of education have mastered skills that make them marketable to many businesses and industries. These statistics show that the level of education has either promoted or hindered one from applying for a job. Given that the 21st century is a technological world, which was not prominent during other eras, employers accentuate to people with some of advanced skills and profound knowledge gained in the classroom. This makes them more productive compared to people who have less education. Thus, it is clear that people with less education tend to account for the higher percentage rate of the unemployment rate in the US compared to those with education (Forrester 98). In addition people with less education tend to be paid less compared to those that have a high level of education. High level of education is profoundly paralleled with one’s skills and knowledge. This has enable the education sector to peak over the last couple of years in that people want to gain more education so as to not only secure their job safety but also advance their skills.
Job experience is one of the things that are cherished in the job market. This is because one’s experience reflects on one’s level of productivity. In most businesses, they prefer a person with experience to having to train someone to acquire skills. This is because time is an essence in any business, and no one wants to take time to train employees yet they can find people with experience in a given field. It is important to note that experience affects everyone in the labor market despite one's level of education (Haugen 78). Experience has become a huge roadblock to people with a bachelor degree or high school diploma. In most advertised jobs, they look for someone with three-five years of experience, which is almost impossible for a college to student to have. This heightens the level of job insecurity in that employers have set high standards that are being mismatched by the current work force in the labor market. The US Bureau of Labor accounts 85.2% of people with no experience a key factor to instigating the high unemployment level. This statistic commemorates the idea that employers do not want people with no experience as they are a liability in the labor market. This creates a paradox in that people tend to go back to earn a high level of education so that in the long run they can enjoy the luxury of a good job that matches their field (Brunello 57). However, the road to having a dream job is bumpy in that a person with less education may be hired because he has had a good experience on the field of work. On the other hand, the person with high education and no experience is left out to dry because firms do not want to take time and train the new forthcoming employees. This creates a paradox in that experience in the field tends to matter most in most jobs in the market unlike one’s level of education
It is also important to note that people with experience in a given field tend to have a higher pay than those with no experience. The US Labor Bureau of Statistics indicates that people with more than 5 years of experience in a given field are paid an average of $87,410 whereas those with no experience are paid an average of $31,260. This shows a form of wage disparity between these two people in that education has not been accounted for but only one’s skill. It is also crucial to note that these are the factors that fuel the increase in unemployment level of young people because they have fewer skills compared to older people. Young people out of college are always at a disadvantage to getting good jobs because they lack experience. As a result, young people are forced to take internships as a way of gaining experience in their field of work. However, this shows how education is expensive and non-paying in that one is forced to take internships so as to build their resume (Brunello 83). This shows that education does not necessarily account to one achieving success. One’s level of experience showcases someone’s productivity level, which is highly valued in any business. Thus, people with more experience enjoy high chances of finding employment.
High unemployment levels affect monetary policies in the country. Most college graduates are young people and are often overlooked because of their lack of experience. This affects the country’s economy because these students cannot spend. This lowers the consumption rate of the country, which damages the GDP (Gali 103). In addition, government cannot earn revenue via taxes in that people cannot spend as a result of unemployment. Thus, monetary policy of a given country is highly affected by the unemployment level.
In conclusion, it is clear that education and unemployment level correlate with each other in that people, who are highly educated, receive a better pay compared to people who are less educated. The educated people account to a less percentage of unemployment rates in the country compared to uneducated people. This is because employers use the assumption that people who are educated possess a set of skills and knowledge that could be a beneficiary to a given business. However, the higher one’s level of education is, the more money one demands to get paid for their work contributions. Employers have become smart concerning this analogy by hiring people who are less educated but can offer the same form of productivity as the highly educated employee. This is important to employers because they can pay a small wage or salary to the person with fewer skills but productive rather than injecting thousands of dollars to person based on their level of education. In addition, it is evident that a one’s experience is more crucial in the job market than one’s level of education. This is because, businesses do not want to use time and energy to train the new employees. Thus, they prefer candidates with good experience over people who may have a high education. This creates a paradox in the society in that it is evident that one’s skills and knowledge are the epitome to one getting a job and not necessarily the level of education
Works Cited
"Employment by education and training assignment, 2010 and projected 2020." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2013. <http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_education_summary.htm>.
Brunello, Giorgio. Unemployment, education and earnings growth. Bonn: IZA, 2001. Print. Forrester, Keith. Unemployment, education, and training: case studies from North America and Europe. Sacramento, Calif.: Caddo Gap Press, 1991. Print.
Galí, Jordi. Monetary policy and unemployment. Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2010. Print.
Haugen, David M., and Susan Musser. Unemployment. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Print.
