The "American Workers Aren't Ready for American Jobs" Myth, Proven Wrong.

[Zalatix]

The Big Jobs Myth: American Workers Aren't Ready for American Jobs - Barbara Kiviat - The Atlantic

This "skills mismatch" is routinely held up to explain why the unemployment rate is still at 8.2% three years after the Great Recession officially ended, and why nearly half of those out of work have been so for more than six months. The Romney campaign affirms that the skills mismatch "lies at the heart of our jobs crisis." In his State of the Union speech, President Obama quoted conversations with businessmen who can't find qualified workers, and then proposed "a national commitment to train two million Americans with skills that will lead directly to a job."

It is heart-warming to see Democrats and Republicans agree, but unfortunate that the thing they agree about may not be true.

In recent months, researchers from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the University of California-Berkeley, and the Wharton School have expressed skepticism about the existence of a national skills mismatch. A larger body of work, stretching back decades, paints a murky picture about how broad-based a problem worker skill level is. Despite this, policymakers have fretted about the issue for 30 years, in periods of high unemployment and low. If the research is far from certain, why does the skills-mismatch narrative stay with us? And by fixating on mismatched skills, are we ignoring a far bigger problem for the economy?

It turns out that the claim that Americans aren't ready for the "new jobs" is wrong. In fact, they're over-qualified.

Study: Nearly half are overqualified for their jobs

Nearly half of working Americans with college degrees are in jobs for which they're overqualified, a new study out Monday suggests.

The study, released by the non-profit Center for College Affordability and Productivity, says the trend is likely to continue for newly minted college graduates over the next decade.

"It is almost the new normal," says lead author Richard Vedder, an Ohio University economist and founder of the center, based in Washington.

The number of Americans whose highest academic degree was a bachelor's grew 25% to 41 million from 2002 to 2012, statistics released last week from the U.S. Census Bureau show.

And then, there is this. A new study which completely destroys the myth that American workers lack the skills for Wisconsin's job market - and the entire American job market, for that matter.

http://www4.uwm.edu/ced/publications/skillsgap_2013-2.pdf

The researchers also pointed out: “Even if every unemployed person were perfectly matched to existing jobs, over 2/3 of all jobless would still be out of work.” <-- which is EXACTLY what I have been saying.

Wages: If Wisconsin employers were encountering a shortage of skilled labor, wages would be going up, but in Wisconsin real wages have declined since 2000. By contrast, in states such as North Dakota and Wyoming, where there really is demand for and a shortage of skilled labor, caused by a boom in the energy sector, real wages have jumped by double digits since 2000. Wisconsin wage “growth” also lags the national rate, another sign that there is no labor shortage here.

The "Skills Shortage" Myth, RIP March 2013.

 

[Fisher]

So when I said that America needed fewer college students I was ______________________________.

(a) correct
(b) insightful
(c) using common sense
(d) good looking as always
(e) all of the above

I am going with e........

 

[azgreg]

 

[Zalatix]

So when I said that America needed fewer college students I was ______________________________.

(a) correct
(b) insightful
(c) using common sense
(d) good looking as always
(e) all of the above

I am going with e........

Employers don't care. They're still demanding college diplomas.

No diploma, no job.

 

[Fisher]

Employers don't care. They're still demanding college diplomas.

No diploma, no job.

As an employer I want experience and a stable job history. College diplomas are not relevant to me since I can teach people the things they would be lacking I need but you cannot teach a work ethic to an adult. :2wave:

 

[Aunt Spiker]

All of this just highlights what's gone wrong:
The service and higher industries are growing - the need for educated/skilled employees is increasing for these industries.
The production industry is shrinking - there's less of a need for employees who are well educated/highly skilled in this arena.

Yet our percentage of the population hasn't really shifted in response. . . Pretend I haven't been a stay at home mom in college for years - I qualify for very little. The cost, though, of fueling a vehicle and putting the kids in after school care really outweighs the income I could bring in by working in an area that can make good use of less educated individuals.

The overall scope of the employment fields (all industries) does not reflect the state of our population per abilities and education - it's uneven, way off.

 

[justabubba]

The Big Jobs Myth: American Workers Aren't Ready for American Jobs - Barbara Kiviat - The Atlantic



It turns out that the claim that Americans aren't ready for the "new jobs" is wrong. In fact, they're over-qualified.

Study: Nearly half are overqualified for their jobs



And then, there is this. A new study which completely destroys the myth that American workers lack the skills for Wisconsin's job market - and the entire American job market, for that matter.

http://www4.uwm.edu/ced/publications/skillsgap_2013-2.pdf

The researchers also pointed out: “Even if every unemployed person were perfectly matched to existing jobs, over 2/3 of all jobless would still be out of work.” <-- which is EXACTLY what I have been saying.



The "Skills Shortage" Myth, RIP March 2013.

there certainly IS a skills shortage
STEM qualified job applicants are in short supply
java script/node js programmers in this area are starting at $125,000/yr - if they can be found
our hospitals have an inadequate supply of trained personnel with medical/technical qualifications
engineering jobs - especially nuclear engineering positions - remain unfilled only because qualified applicants are not present to fill them

now, those recent college graduates with a bachelors degree in "communications", and they are everywhere, just what do they bring to the employer's table in terms of useful qualifications?
many college graduates simply studied what they wanted to pursue without pondering whether they would emerge with skills that were being sought in the marketplace
those are the graduates who are "overqualified" for their jobs ... in large measure because their degree did not provide them with skills the economy was interested in buying

but just because there are jobs unfilled because there are not enough qualified applicants, there is also a huge job shortage because we have more 'qualified' applicants than jobs in those sectors where the required skill set is not substantial. we have a surplus of nominally skilled people seeking jobs requiring only a limited skill set. the employer is foolish to hire the underskilled when they can hire a college graduate for the same money. that reality only further diminishes the number of jobs available to the underskilled. and then when we factor in the hire of illegals willing to work for wages and/or terms unacceptable to those who work legally, that reality also significantly erodes the underskilled job market

the OP appears to believe this is a binary circumstance, which it is not. we need more employees with better skills. but we also need more jobs for the underskilled to perform, if we are to expect much movement in the unemployment data

 

[Zalatix]

there certainly IS a skills shortage
STEM qualified job applicants are in short supply
java script/node js programmers in this area are starting at $125,000/yr - if they can be found
our hospitals have an inadequate supply of trained personnel with medical/technical qualifications
engineering jobs - especially nuclear engineering positions - remain unfilled only because qualified applicants are not present to fill them

You have the nerve to say this even though you have nothing to back up your claim, and the clearly cited facts refute you?

What's next, the Earth is square?

America has plenty of qualified STEM graduates - what you are saying is flatly untrue. It is lies. It has been disproven. You've got nothing to back up your claim.

 

[Zalatix]

As an employer I want experience and a stable job history. College diplomas are not relevant to me since I can teach people the things they would be lacking I need but you cannot teach a work ethic to an adult. :2wave:

Even if you are an employer, you're only one person. Most job descriptions out there ask for a college degree.

 

[Zalatix]

All of this just highlights what's gone wrong:
The service and higher industries are growing - the need for educated/skilled employees is increasing for these industries.
The production industry is shrinking - there's less of a need for employees who are well educated/highly skilled in this arena.

Yet our percentage of the population hasn't really shifted in response. . . Pretend I haven't been a stay at home mom in college for years - I qualify for very little. The cost, though, of fueling a vehicle and putting the kids in after school care really outweighs the income I could bring in by working in an area that can make good use of less educated individuals.

The overall scope of the employment fields (all industries) does not reflect the state of our population per abilities and education - it's uneven, way off.

You didn't read the cites at all, did you?

There is no skills shortage. The skills shortage myth has been debunked by reams of solid facts and research.

There is no skills shortage.

 

[Fisher]

Even if you are an employer, you're only one person. Most job descriptions out there ask for a college degree.

So your position is that we should continue to send more people to college to acquire more skills when workers are overskilled? Further evidence that you are really an anarchist in my book........

 

[Thrilla]

In my experience, I haven't seen a "skills gap" at play.
almost all of my applicants are well educated and have the necessary job skills.

education and skill set are but 2 out of 15 factors I look at ( well I don't look at them anymore, HR does, but the policy is still in place)
even for my positions that require the least amount of skills or education, they still have to fit the mold for things like ethics, initiative, professionalism, respect.

 

[justabubba]

You have the nerve to say this even though you have nothing to back up your claim, and the clearly cited facts refute you?

what nerve is required to offer the truth?

What's next, the Earth is square?

only to those who accept foolish notions without inquiry

America has plenty of qualified STEM graduates - what you are saying is flatly untrue. It is lies. It has been disproven. You've got nothing to back up your claim.

here you go; get educated about what you post:
Three million open jobs in U.S., but who's qualified? - CBS News
Blog: 600,000 manufacturing jobs go unfilled due to applicants lack of 'soft skills'
http://www.wtb.wa.gov/Documents/EmployerSurvey2012newsrelease.pdf