With new graduates (high school and college) coming into the
workforce in May and June, maybe some dream of a Golden Age when all young
workers found employment?
With the current wave of nostalgia, maybe they dream of an
era before they were born, back in the 1970s?
Nostalgia can be a terrible thing when it blurs the reality
of the past.
Yes, there were recessions, even in the 1970s, and by some
measures, young workers are better off coming out of this most recent recession
than they were back in the spring of 1971, a few months after the 1969-1970
recession had ended in November 1970.
April-1971 | April-2014 | |
Labor Force Participation Rate | 67.4 | 69.2 |
Employment - Population Ratio | 61.1 | 62.3 |
Unemployment Rate | 9.4 | 10.0 |
Employed | 9,888,000 | 13,765,000 |
Unemployed | 1,027,000 | 1,521,000 |
Not In Labor Force | 5,271,000 | 6,820,000 |
Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, not seasonally adjusted.
The unemployment rate is higher today than in 1971 (9.4 in
1971 vs. 10.0 today), but a higher percentage of young adults are working (61.1
in 1971 vs. 62.3 percent today).
While there are 1.5 million more young adults not in the
labor force today than in 1971, there are also almost 3.9 million more employed than
in 1971.
Is today’s job market difficult? Yes.
But it was also difficult in 1971. As Sylvia Porter wrote in
May 1972, “Still below the job projections made in the late 1960s for this year
[1972], but moderately better than they were in catastrophic 1971.” – Lewiston
Daily Sun, May 4, 1972
A Golden Age for Young Workers? Only in nostalgic movies.
Email michaelwald50@gmail.com