Out of College & Out of Job

MSNBC’s Gen Y: No job, lots of loans, grim future

An interesting article about Generation Y, especially those who just graduated but are not landing jobs. They are even finding a tough time to be underemployed (employed but waaay below their qualifications). Other interesting observations from the article:

• Underemployment rate [June 2010]: overall 9.5% in June (= 15 million Americans)
  • 20-24: 15.3 % ||| 35-44: 7.8 % ||| 45-54: 7.5 % ||| 55+: 6.9%
  • “average length of unemployment now is almost like six months”
• 2008 average for college students was $23,000 – not counting credit card debt
• Some are overqualified with the jobs they are applying … “after one job application, he was told he should leave his degrees off his resume”
• If they get hired, guess who’d be first to get laid off.

I thought the more impressive part is the comments, rantings, and jabbings the article is getting. People of different generations argues on whom are being hit the most, young people lack respect, politics, job exportation, etc.

New Mexico

In New Mexico, the picture may not be as bad. Education in college is affordable with federal money is easily available.The issue is that many are not exhausting federal free money for school. These are numbers about financial aid extracted from a grant call:

• Nearly two million low- and moderate-income undergraduates do not submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to apply for Federal financial aid, even though many of them are eligible for Pell Grants, which they would not have to repay; and
• A 2009 report by The Institute for College Access and Success found that 64 percent of students who took on costly private loans had not yet exhausted their eligibility for more flexible and affordable Federal loans.

In the recent years, NM’s unemployment rate has been lower than the national average but the pay tends to be lower compared to similar jobs in other parts of US. Youths may need to come up with plans B, C, D, … .

Youth Marketing Keywords

I am getting involved in youth activities. With the internet and social media buzz, I am supposed to beef up my knowledge on them. . This is what I have found about internet, youth, and social media marketing. Some of the keywords, I have never heard … hope to learn more about these term

All 50 Youth Marketing Keywords You Need to Know

by Graham Brown [Mobile Youth]

Smells Like Teen Money Management

This is another resource for training youth about money management. The content appears to be very similar to the one produced by NEFE, High School Financial Planning Program (HSFPP). The powerpoint presentation is also available in Spanish.

By the way, this organization also provide free materials on consumer related publications on topics that include

• Saving Your Home from Foreclosure
• Staying on Track With Credit
• How to Send Money Home
• Families and Credit Cards
• Cómo Crear y Mantener Buen Crédito
• Robo de Identidad – Fraude de Cuentas
• Entienda y administre bien su crédito Cómo usar el crédito con prudencia

The Youths in NM

How does the youths in NM compare to Americans?

Based on based on New Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey (YRRS), there are disconcerting youth statistics. The 2005 numbers shows that NM ranks number one among US states in the following categories:

• % alcohol use before the age of 13 (30.7% vs. 23.8% in the US)
• Marijuana use before the afe of 13 (18.2% vs. 8.3% in the US)
• Current cigar, cigarillo, or little cigar use (18.9% vs. 13.6% in the US)

• Carried a weapon (27.5% vs. 18.0% in the US)
• Carried a gun (11.7% vs. 5.2% in the US)
• In a physical fight (37.1% vs. 35.5% in the US)
• Skipped school because unsafe reasons (9.0% vs. 5.5% in the US)

• Seriously considered attempting suicide (19.3% vs. 14.5% in the US)
• Suicide attempt (14.3% vs. 6.9% in the US)
• Suicide attempt resulting in injury treated by nurse or doctor (4.8% vs. 2.0% in the US)

On the brighter side, the youths in NM performs better than average American youths in physical activity  and body weight indicators.

Also available by county, this survey is certainly an important dataset that looks into youths behaviors and tendencies.  Other important measures include tv viewing 3+ hours per day (NM 27.9%; US 35.4%), computer use 3+ hours per day for non-school related activities (NM 18.7%; US 24.9%).,  levels of caring and supportive relationships, and plans for continuing education.

Give Credits to Those who Deserve Them

The hot news nowadays is how a bailed out company, AIG, passed out a $165M bonuses to its executives from more than $170M bail out money to the company. Even in these bail out and economic hardship, the richer group is taking advantage of this economic debacle, getting richer out of this situation.

Let’s do our part by passing on the credits to those who deserve them. Tax season is coming to an end. The U.S. government has provided many tax credits as a way to transfer money to those who deserve them such as the low income, hard working groups. Imagine handing $4,000 cash to those in dire need of these money to survive (e.g. buying basic food, paying rent/mortgages). We can do this by spreading out the words on different types of tax credits.

In the past, NM was estimated to lose between $74 million and $136 million in Earned Income Tax Credit. And this is only one of the many tax credit programs such as the Child Tax Credit, Federal Housing Tax Credit (for first time home buyers), Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled, Economic Stimulus Payment (ESP), and Recovery Rebate Credit (for those who missed out on previous year’s ESP).

As one of the poorest states in the nation, NM certainly needs an economic boost via these tax credit programs. Together, we can inform others about this and encourage others to share this information to those who qualify for claim their money.

Note

• Free tax help are available. Call 1-800-829-1040 for listings at your locality (call them to get these addresses). Three main types: IRS office, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program, and AARP.
• Some centers provide Spanish translation.
• Online tax filing and/or software use saves times. Free for lower income households. State filing may have a small fee.
• NM has state (above refers mainly to federal type) Earned Income Tax Credit.