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6.5M More Students With Bachelor's Degrees Than Jobs Available
HNGN: Headlines and Global News ^ | 10/21/2015 | Taylor Tyler

Posted on 10/21/2015 11:56:55 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

There are currently 6.5 million more students in the U.S. with bachelor's degrees than there are jobs available that require such degrees, including jobs expected to be created by 2022, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), but the Obama administration is still expanding programs to encourage even more foreign students to stay in the U.S. and work after graduation.

There were 35,632,000 Americans age 25-64 with bachelor's degrees in 2014. If you include people age 20-24 and 65 years and older, the number grows to 45,176,000, according to the BLS statistics, reported The Washington Free Beacon.

There were 26,033,000 jobs that required bachelor's degrees in 2012, a number that is expected to grow to 29,176,700 by 2022.

"This means that the number of Americans who hold bachelor's degrees now, in their working years, exceeds the number of jobs created by 2022 for bachelor's degrees by 6,458,300," reported the Free Beacon's Ali Meyer.

These statistics are often a result of employers requiring credentials that are not necessarily needed to perform a job, according to Neal McCluskey, director of the Center of Educational Freedom at the Cato Institute.

"Many more employers may well be asking for credentials mainly because they can, not because they now have the need for certain skills and abilities that people can learn in college and more importantly can only learn in college," McCluskey said.

"About one-third of people with bachelor's degrees right now are in jobs that don't require that credential," he said. "Many of those are people who-it's not just the new recent graduates looking for a job-these are many people who they have been on a permanent career track that isn't a job requires a degree."

President Obama's executive actions to encourage foreign students in science and technology fields to stay in the country and work after graduating certainly doesn't help either.

The administration announced Friday the expansion of the Optional Practical Training program, which will allow foreign STEM students to stay in the U.S. for up to three years after getting a degree. Hundreds of thousands of students are expected to be covered under the program, which would increase the amount of time foreign students are allowed to stay and work from 29 months to 36 months total, reported The Washington Times.

It would also save businesses hundreds of thousands of dollars a year because they do not have to pay payroll taxes on the wages of workers in the program, as they are still considered students even though they have graduated.

David North, a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), said that the program would harm American workers already looking for jobs in the U.S.

"You're not only talking about replacement workers, you're talking about cheap replacement workers," North told the Times.

CIS estimated in a recent report that the U.S. had "twice as many people (immigrant and native) with STEM degrees as there were STEM jobs."


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: college; collegegrads; h1b; jobs; stem; unemployment
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1 posted on 10/21/2015 11:56:55 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind
In terms of value, the Bachelor's degree of today is the high school diploma of twenty years ago. At many hospitals, entry level clerical jobs are being filled by four year college graduates who are hired part time. They are thankful for the chance to prove themselves why praying they will not be automated out of a job.
2 posted on 10/21/2015 12:02:12 PM PDT by buckalfa (I am feeling much better now.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Which is why we need to let 6.5 million more get them for “free.”


3 posted on 10/21/2015 12:02:25 PM PDT by Catmom (We're all gonna get the punishment only some of us deserve.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Let me guess.

Most of those “degrees” are for “humanities”; things like “LGBQT Studies” and “Racial Justice”, etc.


4 posted on 10/21/2015 12:02:52 PM PDT by Westbrook (Children do not divide your love, they multiply it)
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To: SeekAndFind

Not much call for a BA in Women’s or Minorities Studies in the occupational fields.

I hear Basket Weaving is making a come back, though...


5 posted on 10/21/2015 12:03:15 PM PDT by rjsimmon (The Tree of Liberty Thirsts)
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To: SeekAndFind

Don’t worry the government will just subsidize opening more starbucks...


6 posted on 10/21/2015 12:03:18 PM PDT by GraceG (Protect the Border from Illegal Aliens, Don't Protect Illegal Alien Boarders...)
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To: SeekAndFind

A BS degree in lesbian basket weaving is going to get you nothing. And similar such type useless degrees.

Further, stop flooding the country with h1b folks for big business to siip over qualified americans because they dont want to pay them, and that number will go down.


7 posted on 10/21/2015 12:03:40 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; Not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: SeekAndFind

How many have BA degrees in worthless majors such as Journalism or Communicatios (Radio/Television) whee there are no jobs? Universities ought to be sued for offering degrees in ares where there are no jobs.


8 posted on 10/21/2015 12:03:45 PM PDT by txrefugee
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To: Westbrook

CIS estimated in a recent report that the U.S. had “twice as many people (immigrant and native) with STEM degrees as there were STEM jobs.”


9 posted on 10/21/2015 12:06:06 PM PDT by kabar
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To: SeekAndFind
Woo-Hoo, Hope and Change!
10 posted on 10/21/2015 12:06:38 PM PDT by PROCON (A proud CRUZader.)
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To: txrefugee

RE: How many have BA degrees in worthless majors such as Journalism or Communicatios (Radio/Television) whee there are no jobs?

How about PR and advertising firms? What about digital media? can’t these degrees be useful there?


11 posted on 10/21/2015 12:07:34 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Yep. I bet those are overwhelmingly BA degrees. A bachelor of science degree is still pretty useful in getting a job.


12 posted on 10/21/2015 12:07:43 PM PDT by circlecity
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To: SeekAndFind

is this article part 1 and the next article about why we have to pay the student loans for 6.5 million people with bachelor degrees that couldn’t get jobs?


13 posted on 10/21/2015 12:08:50 PM PDT by jcon40
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To: Secret Agent Man
Further, stop flooding the country with h1b folks for big business to siip over qualified americans because they dont want to pay them, and that number will go down.


14 posted on 10/21/2015 12:09:26 PM PDT by kabar
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To: kabar

> CIS estimated in a recent report that the U.S. had “twice
> as many people (immigrant and native) with STEM degrees as
> there were STEM jobs.”

Hmm...

I’m a software engineer, and there seems to be plenty of work in my field for guys with software training and experience.


15 posted on 10/21/2015 12:12:11 PM PDT by Westbrook (Children do not divide your love, they multiply it)
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To: SeekAndFind

During the GWB administration, this would have been on the front page of every newspaper and the lead story one day every week on the alphabet channels.

“The only jobs available are hamburger flipping jobs”

During pbama: only smiles and green shoots.


16 posted on 10/21/2015 12:14:51 PM PDT by MichaelCorleone (Jesus Christ is not a religion. He's the Truth.)
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To: circlecity
...A bachelor of science degree is still pretty useful in getting a job ,___, {O,o} |)``) O RLY? Myself, and a number of other Biology graduates might beg to differ on that statement. Some STEM degrees have become just as useful as a lot of Humanities degrees, especially if you're over 35.
17 posted on 10/21/2015 12:16:06 PM PDT by Kriggerel ("All great truths are hard and bitter, but lies... are sweeter than wild honey" (Ragnar Redbeard))
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To: SeekAndFind

A Bachelor’s Degree is still a fine thing to have, but you must choose your major wisely.

My son recently graduated from University of California Davis with a BS in Computer Science and immediately landed a six-figure job with a great company. His girlfriend graduated a year earlier with a Communications degree and she still can’t find a job.

Choose wisely young Jedi!


18 posted on 10/21/2015 12:20:09 PM PDT by rivercat
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To: Kriggerel

It took my daughter less than two months to turn her degree in microbiology into a great job with Dow Agrochemical. That was last year.


19 posted on 10/21/2015 12:25:28 PM PDT by circlecity
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To: rivercat

20 posted on 10/21/2015 12:26:18 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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