By, Julia Matulionis |Staff Writer|
For young adults (ages 18-29) unemployment is at 12 percent, compared to the 7.9 percent rate of unemployment for the entire nation, according to a recent press release by Generation Opportunity, a non-profit organization.
Among other things, this can be contributed to lack of opportunity and the organization is urging young people to pay closer attention to politics and get out and vote.
In 2008, President Obama stood on the platform of hope.
He urged young Americans to get to the polls and they did, with 66 percent of young Americans voted for Obama in the 2008 election.
According to The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning (CIRCLE) and Engagement, 52 percent voted in favor of Obama this year.
More young Americans are paying attention to politics compared to in the past.
CSUSB student Colin Steele said, “It was all over Facebook and Twitter. It was hard not to keep informed on the upcoming election.”
The Examiner.com reported, “The proportion [of youth] who are paying attention to the election has risen, from 56.1 percent to 71 percent.”
CIRCLE also reported that, “in 2008, the youth vote made the difference for Barack Obama in Indiana, North Carolina, and Virginia– meaning that if you subtracted all the under-30 votes, the states would have flipped from Blue to Red.”
Some speculations say Obama is at fault for the ever expanding youth unemployment rate, citing his policy to extend insurance provided by parents to their children up to the age of 26 years, raising tuition costs, and his 41 point job plan is not geared for young Americans.
According to The Washington Post, “Among 18-to-24-year-olds, 53 percent have moved back in with Mom and Dad, at least temporarily, in the past few years.”
Others credit President Obama’s initiative and enthusiasm for the rise in young voters getting involved in politics, protecting the public school systems and the decline of unemployment.
A Coyote Economist news release shed some light on recent college graduate unemployment rates, “For those in the labor force who are 25 years or older, the unemployment rate for those with just a high school diploma was 8.8 percent in March of 2012, whereas the unemployment rate for those with college education was 7.7 percent. And, of great relevance for those now attending CSUSB, the unemployment rate for those with a Bachelor’s Degree (or higher) was only 4.1 percent.”
While this number gives some hope for a college students future, there are some staggering statistics being reported by organizations like Generation Opportunity, who said, “84 percent of young people ages 18-29 had planned to but now might delay or not make at all a major life change or move forward on a major purchase due to the current state of the economy.”
Moving out of their parents house, starting a family and saving for retirement were among the top things to get pushed to the side.
CSUSB student Iviana-Kia Ridgeway said, “I work and go to school, living on my own is not an option for me right now. I barely have enough money for my bills and I still live with my parents.”