Young and going for broke

Posted: Wednesday, October 01, 2008 11:39 AM by Carrie Dann
Filed Under: Economy, Luke Russert

The rocky economy is affecting everyone from hedge fund number crunchers to homeowners, but young people looking for jobs and student loans might be one of the hardest-hit groups.

In his latest blog, NBC's Luke Russert asked around about what recent grads can expect going into the workforce, and he found a forecast that looks grim. "The bad economy is not only affecting young people trying to get into the business world," he writes. "It has and will hit hiring for all types of jobs. Small businesses will suffer because they can't secure credit and so cannot grow. Non-profits and social programs will not have as much funding because there will be less capital available to them and their budgets will be down. If you have a job lined up for after graduation, be thankful. These are dire times for young graduates."

For more, check out the Off Air blog at NBC's iCue site.

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Comments

Really helps make the case for Obama's proposals for young persons to get engaged in community and global services. These can become great starting points for leadership growth and experience.

Brian, Cedar Hill, TX (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:05 PM)

With all due respect NBC, you have shown us that it's not what you know, but who you know... that get's a piece printed on FR.

Loved Your Dad (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:05 PM)

McBush has job lined up for them too. I call it his four more yrs with 4 more Wars program. Yup vote Dipstick and Lipstick 08 and send your youth to war.

Brian M De (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:06 PM)

and this is why young people WILL and MUST vote!

happy, boston, ma (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:06 PM)

Trickle down is trickling out. The poor and middle class have been suffering for quite a while and finally it's moved up the ladder. Grads will be in competition for lower wages with high school grads and older people who should be enjoying retirement and can't. I may emmigrate to Ireland where there's lots of work and the banks are more secure.

OSU Poke for Obama (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:06 PM)

I agree. finding jobs is hard and so is paying for student loans. It is hard to receive a deferrment. Times are bad. Hopefully, this motivates the youth to come out and vote.

voter (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:07 PM)

I cannot stand listening to Obama lie and twist things. He's now bragging he's going cut capital gains on small business. Well, guess what, folks? Small business doesn't pay cap gains tax. This is your lying, doing anything to get elected, hope you're really stupid candidate, Obamatots.

Obama the LIAR (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:09 PM)

Young people as well as their parents need to take heed of this article. You may want to punish wall street first but you better believe that you as well as your love ones will feel the pain sooner and harder than any failed CEO.

Even without the Golden Parachute, most CEOs still have more money and assets than the average Joe and are connected.

Look at the big picture not just at your own feet (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:10 PM)

Get ready young people, this is just the begining of what a Obama administration will bring. Unexperienced change is very dangerous ! You would be better off with a Independent ( republican ) like Mccain. His policies may not be the best, but you can bet that we won't have another great depression.
Uncontrolled,inexperienced change....or
steady, controlled change.

Watchful Eye OH (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:11 PM)

Government jobs at the state level are vaporizing too, depending on your location. Here in Georgia we've had 5% or greater budget cuts across the board in state agencies, which for my department meant all vacant positions are eliminated along with other cuts. Those are jobs that just don't exist anymore, and aren't coming back in the near future.

Rich, Athens, GA (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:11 PM)

There are lots of positions open if you want to be a soldier or another part of the war machine. That is the biggest growth industry in America. You can thank Bush and the Republicans for that job creation bonanza, although McCain did vote against you getting a GI bill for your efforts.

nuanced (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:14 PM)

I am one of those young graduates, and I am outraged at the incompetence and lack of foresight exhibited by Washington D.C. FROM BOTH PARTIES!!!! Democrats had their hand in this just as much as Republicans so take off your partisan hats and face the facts. There is absolutely no excuse for Congress' failure to act sooner in an effort to avoid getting to this point of crisis.

Yes, I am one of those young graduates, wringing my hands over how I'm going to pay back my massive student debt accumulated over ten years undergraduate and post-graduate studies (I have a B.S., M.P.H., and a J.D.). It looks like education may have been a really bad investment, because while it will benefit me in the long-term it is going to do nothing to save my credit now. And I have a job making 55K a year!

News Alert: Apparently Citi has cancelled its private student loan consolidation services. If I can't find a bank to consolidate my loans so I can get them into forbearance, I'm going to be forced to default. This majorly sucks. I am extremely angry. I want to pay back my debt, but I just don't know how I'm going to do it without loan consolidation and forbearance.

Young Graduate Who Thinks Congress and BOTH Political Parties are a JOKE!, Tulsa, OK (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:16 PM)

Having just returned from the UK from an overseas teaching job, it's dire for loads of people. I got back to the Boston, MA area on August 1, and am still unemployed, two months later. Demoralizing, depressing, and frustrating are just a few of the ways I'd describe this.

I have registered with a few local staffing agencies, and from what they've told me, it's like the admin/white-collar jobs they were used to having an overload of have just dried up, almost overnight. And I'm supposed to pay my student loans? Not to mention keep a roof over my head? I wish someone would explain to me how this is going to happen...

Thom, Boston, MA (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:18 PM)

Hopefully young people like myself will use this economic downturn to serve their communities or to better themselves through post-graduate education (if they can secure the necessary student loans). Don't be disheartened. Look on the bright side and consider all your alternatives.

Ryan. KC MO (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:20 PM)

Being young and tuned onto todays ecnonomy has to be depressing.Mounting piles of debt,unemployment at highest rate in years,and bailouts of wallstreet and banking while young people try to find there way.All this has happen in the last 8 years while the conductor was a sleep at the switch.Thats how train wrecks happen.But this can change for the better ,all young people have to do is there part and vote.Vote for who you think will lead us out of this mess.Get involved,research the truth,make a choice based on your research,not what the MSM tells us.Vote for change,vote for Hope,vote for the smart guy this time.

jesse St.Paul Minnesota (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:20 PM)

Looks like a lot of Obama's base is not going to find the real world job market too friendly

bob,knoxville,tn (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:21 PM)

This is a huge concern for me and many voters, on both sides. You have this out pouring of new young voters, which is great except, did they research their canidate or are they just voting for someone because of skin color, shoes, mp3 player, etc. Great if they want to vote, but please know what you're voting for. Remember 4 yrs ago when these kids got out and voted..... yep They voted for Bush !

New voter concern OH (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:21 PM)

Not everyone can have a job waiting for them based on what their last name is.

Team Hoggs (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:24 PM)

I run a very small business in mid-America. Several people have stopped using my business, purely because they can no longer afford the "extra items". Now in turn, I must begin to limit my "extra items". The cycle has begun, and no one knows when it will end. Not the financial picture I had in mind several years ago. It is sad and disappointing to see this financial decline for all of us.

Paula--Middle America (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:24 PM)

Luke is exactly right! What a wonderful young man. I know that Tim is looking down and feeling very proud!!

Cindi in Louisiana (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:25 PM)

If the bleak jobs picture isn't enough to get young voters (especially new college grads) to the polls on November 4th, then I don't know what will.

Indie Woman in Denver (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:25 PM)

Journalism seems to be an area for real opportunity. The ones we have now seem fairly dim so it won't take much to displace them.

Walter C., NY (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:25 PM)

Dang this country is really getting hit with some major problems. We really need to start clamping down on the domestic issues here at home rather than policing and subjecting the world to American view. I'm thankful I have a nice career now, but God forbid I wake up one morning and find out that I'm laid off.

Obama/Biden All The Way!!!

CJH, LB, CA (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:26 PM)

It appears Obama's "Chicken Little - The Sky is Falling Routine" has seeped over to the blog division of NBC.

Centers Danns (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:27 PM)

I have heard that bad lending practices have helped cause the housing crisis - what about rweal estate agents who buy up property then jack up the price in re-sale?? I see that a lot in my area of the country - isn't that the same as insider trading on wall street?

Are there laws in place to protect the consumer from all of this "price gouging" in real estate??

Just wondering....

Carol (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:27 PM)

just don't forget Obama"S proposal due some give back service and you wil recieve some help

peace-out (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:28 PM)

On the bright side, looks like the banking industry is going to get a nice infusion of cash soon. So if you're a student and actually took some difficult courses like business and accounting and not courses like english and journalism, you should do nicely.

Headly Lammar (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:32 PM)

How much more money does GE have to lose before NBC shuts down?

Jmmy S, North Side of Chicago (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:33 PM)

Thank you, Dumbya, and the God's Own Party!
And special thanks to all you imbeciles who voted Dumbya in in 2004! May your grandkids freeze in the bread lines!

Class Warrior, D.C. (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:34 PM)

The future is indeed bleak for the young. Not only
no jobs, but a humungous deficit that they will
be responsible for paying for.
It is a shame what our government has done to
the future and survival of our country.

katiec Pekin, IL (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:37 PM)

This news should get out the young vote more than any other factor. The unemployed have all the time and all the good reasons to vote for anybody but an incumbent. This only adds to the yearning of the nation for change, any kind of change. If Obama can successfully tie McCain to Bush this election will be a landslide.

Elmer, Seattle (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:40 PM)

We have a son who is senior in college, finance major, thank heavens he will have several more months before he needs to start a career, maybe with Obama/Biden things will start to smooth out for the graduates of '09.

Many kids have HUGE loans to start repaying after graduating, and it will just kick their butts if they cannot find a decent job.

My husband and I worked damned hard to put 2 boys through school, and they deserve to have a change at making a real life. We did not get one damn red cent in help paying for college, it came from our pockets, always been thankful we could do it for them. We are not in the upper echelon, I teach, he is conductor on railroad, just put on permanent disability.

It should not cost kids 20 years of work to pay back going to school. This has to stop.

Please, please, if there is a god, let the dems win.

k reed wyoming (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:42 PM)

Luke, not only the recent college grads but the 40-65 crowd as well is getting laid off in big numbers. Welcome to the 2nd "Great Depression" and we know who is all to blame. Your father was a great man RIP !

Paul, Miami, FL (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:44 PM)

Can't they get jobs interviewing hot chicks for MSNBC?

Luke is a poon dog (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:46 PM)

Tell me about it! My daughter is graduating at the top of her class with 2 degrees in under 4 years and can't find a job. She is coming back home and considering the military. Even though we spent 23 years in the USAF, I hate that it may be her only option.

Helen, Aliso Viejo, CA (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:48 PM)

I remember going through the exact same thing when I graduated in 1988. After the crash of '87, everyone was happy to find any job.

The government will step in and helps out Americans, just like they did after the S&L crisis of 1987 crashed the market.

America is incredible. When things get tough, we band together.

Dan, WI (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:48 PM)

Why isn't it BIG news that Guiliani formed some sort of legal group DURING THIS FINANCIAL CRISIS that will bring profit to himself based on buying up houses or mortgages. He & McCain were shown boarding McCain's plane in Memphis, the day of the debate--and the news commentator mentioned that they had just stopped there to do that (forming the legal group)! I don't know if McCain is profiting or not from this--but one of his surrogates sure is. That's disgraceful!

KW Virginia (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:50 PM)

Hey John McCain say's the 'Economy's Fundamentally Stong'. It's all good -- let's give more tax breaks to the wealthy and big oil companies!!! It's simple, McCain = reckless, old Maverick; Obama = youthful, leader of change. Who do you trust?

Obama/Biden '08

Democratic CPA, Rochester Hills, Michigan (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:53 PM)

On all the threads i see the republicians saying
msnbc is in the tank for Obama, you must not watch Moaning Joe, or Road to the Whitehouse, with David Gregory or Andrea Mitchells new show. For sure Keith Olberman and Rachael Maddow seems to have pretty good sense and is for Obama, but thats all yall have on the
Obama bias on msnbc. Dont sound Stupid just watch Fox and shut up.
Oh Yeah! Thank God for our youth who are more than intrested they are enthusiastic and ready to vote their intrest and their future.

Obama/Biden
marty

marty holloman,columbia,s.c. (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:54 PM)

All this due to the deregulation by the so called "pro- business" Republicans. Pro-huge business and pro filthy rich individuals but not pro Joe sixpack or the small business owner.

eagle1776 (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:55 PM)

So, how can we fix this???? I can asure you if we vote Obama into office things we get better. If you want the same, McCains your man!!!!!!!!!!!
Obama/Biden 08'

cindy, Las Vegas, Nv (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:58 PM)

This proves even more why youngsters need to come out against the non sense the Repulicans have put this country through. And they will!

Obiden 08 & 12

Mia (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 1:08 PM)

Luke,

Tell them to go out an vote for Obama/Biden. It is their best hope!

Angela, NJ (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 1:11 PM)

are you waiting for a critical mass of pro obama statements before you publish any?

bob,knoxville,tn (Sent Wednesday, October 01, 2008 1:17 PM)

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