The baby-boomers. A great generation that might drain my income for the rest of my life, unless we do actually get some social security reform. But the large amount of those people born between 1946 and 1964 (my parents included) will benefit those of us in Gen Y (or is there a more recent name for us?).
"For the first time in many years, a Bureau of Labor Statistics analysis finds that total college-level job openings between 1998 and 2008 will nearly equal the number of college-educated entrants to the labor force. And a primary reason is the large number of retirements expected from workers at the leading edge of the "baby boom" generation who are in college-level jobs. The shift in balance will help shrink the total number of college graduates expected to end up in noncollege-level jobs or be unemployed to about 7 percent between 1998 and 2008, down from 14 percent over the previous decade."
SaWEET!
"In addition to encountering a more favorable job market, college graduates usually enjoy other benefits associated with more education. Notably, college graduates as a whole have lower unemployment and higher median earnings than do less-educated members of the labor force. In 1998, the strong economy was reflected in a low overall unemployment rate of 4.5 percent. College graduates fared better than that average, with unemployment of just 1.9 percent, and even better than the average of 4.9 percent for high school graduates. In terms of median earnings, college graduates earned about $41,000 in 1998, compared with the $23,000 that high school graduates earned--a premium of 78 percent.
Good prospects for college-level jobs, lower unemployment rates, and higher median earnings are strong incentives for attending college. Nevertheless, prospective students should consider other factors, such as which occupations will offer the most college-level jobs and which jobs are tailored to a student's particular skills and aptitudes. Nature of the work, earnings, and advancement potential vary by occupation, even among college-level jobs.
To understand the future job market for college graduates, it is important to consider past trends. Reporting historical data is of little value, however, without an explanation of how those data are derived. This section begins by describing the BLS approach to determining the college graduate job outlook, then examines data from the 1998 market."
