The middle states and the educated enjoy better economic realities

While few people feel completely immune from job loss, some geographies and segments are fairing far better than others. The national unemployment rate is currently 8.5% and many experts expect it to reach double digits by the end of the year. The states in the middle of the country, from the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi River, have unemployment rates at or below the national average. These states, more than others, enjoy some diversification in their states’ economies and largely missed the housing boom and bust, though recent declines in oil and crop prices may cause them to start to feel some pain.
California, Nevada, Oregon, Michigan, and the Carolinas, on the other hand, all lead the way with double digit unemployment and, unfortunately, share one or more of the following characteristics:
· a concentration in an out of favor industry
· a severe housing bubble
· inflated property tax revenues in the boom years
· falling income, property and sales tax revenue in the bust years
In the good years, many of these states enjoyed an expansion of state government services that must now be scaled back as tax revenue evaporates. As a result, they are experiencing deep funding cuts to sacred cows such as schools, emergency responders (i.e. police, fire and 911), and parks and recreation. These cuts create a sense of deterioration in the quality of life for everyone.
A key piece of interesting information from the data is that college graduates are fairing far better than those with just a high school diploma. Unemployment for college graduates is only 4.3%, less than half the national average. In contrast, unemployment for teenagers, just out of high school is over 20%. Unlike the last two recessions (1990-1991 and 2001-2003), the 2008 and beyond recession is marked with much more job loss among the less educated than among college graduates. Those earlier recessions introduced the country to the concept of mass white-collar layoffs. The brunt of the layoffs in this recession is falling on construction workers, hotel workers, retail workers and others without a four-year degree.
If you are a college grad and find yourself unemployed or fear that you will become unemployed in the near future, you should check in with your school’s alumni association. Many schools are offering special programs for their alums including:
· Career counseling
· Job fairs
· Networking events
· Discounts on test prep courses (i.e. Kaplan)
· Access to and discounts on health insurance
· Discounts on graduate degrees