Pessimism over the US job market is at its highest within the last decade as nine in 10 Americans say it is a “bad time” to find a quality job in a Gallup poll.
Ninety-two per cent of Americans who are either working or unemployed and looking for work rate November as a bad time to find a quality job, while 7 per cent say it is a good time. Each of these ratings is the worst Gallup has measured since monitoring began in August 2001.
Younger Americans aged 18 to 29 are slightly more optimistic about the quality jobs picture, while older Americans and those with postgraduate educations are slightly more pessimistic. Americans clearly perceive that few quality jobs are available.
Underemployed and unemployed statistics may not be telling the whole story, if millions of additional Americans can’t find quality jobs. A lack of quality jobs reduces not only Americans’ current earnings but also their future earnings because they are failing to gain experience in good jobs.
Both its magnitude and its duration make today’s unemployment situation a crisis. However, there is also a crisis in terms of quality jobs. Often, currently growing companies complain that they can’t find employees with the skills and experience they need.
This is partly an education problem, but it is also a lack-of-experience issue, with talented Americans not getting the opportunity to gain the skills and experience these companies need. This situation is likely to worsen until the U.S. economy creates not only more jobs, but also, and just as importantly, more quality jobs.
