FRB:Experiences and Perspectives of Young Workers

Figure 1. Would you say your expectations about future job opportunities are:
	2013	2015
Pessimistic	21%	10%
Not sure	34%	28%
Optimistic	45%	61%
Number of Responses	2097	2035

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Figure 2. Please indicate whether any of the factors contributed to your feeling optimistic about your future job opportuntities
Factor	Percent
My local labor market provides many job opportunities	57
My previous work experience	72
My field of study	76
There is demand for the type of work I do	77
My current level of education and training	78
I will have enough eduation and training in the future	81

Note: Number of responses is 1,230.

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Figure 3. Please indicate whether any of the factors contributed to your feeling pessimistic about your future job opportuntities
Factor	Percent
My field of study	47
Lack of demand for the type of work I do	47
Lack of opportunities for education and training	51
My local labor market does not provide many job opportunities	57
My current level of education and training	67
Lack of previous work experience	68

Note: Number of responses is 219.

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Figure 4. Please indicate whether any of the factors contributed to your feeling not sure about your future job opportuntities
Factor	Percent
My field of study	37
The demand for the type of work I do	36
Lack of previous work experience	36
Future opportunties for education and training	37
My local labor market	42
My current level of education and training	51

Note: Number of responses is 580.

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Figure 5. Is it more improtant to have a job that pays more or a job that is more likely to provide steady employment?
	2013	2015
Steady Employment	67%	62%
Higher Pay	30%	36%

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Box 1 Figure A. Expectations about future job opportunities are "Optimistic" (by race)
	2013	2015
White	44%	64%
Black	44%	63%
Hispanic	45%	56%

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Figure 6. When you reach your parents' current age, how do you expect your standard of living to compare to their current standard of living? (by parents' educational attainment)
	LOWER STANDARD of living than my parents	HIGHER STANDARD of living than my parents
High school or less	1%	19%
Bachelor's degree or higher	4%	17%

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Figure 7. Please indicate whether you used any of the following forms of financing for your most recent educational program
Form of financing	Percent
Tuition reimbursement from employer (including military)	10
I paid with my own savings	38
Academic scholarship	39
Financial-aid based loans (including FAFSA loans)	46
Financial-aid based grant (including Pell Grant and FAFSA grants)	46
My parents contributed (with or without the use of loans)	52
I worked while in school	62

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Figure 8. Were the financial benefits of most recent educational program greater than the costs?
	2013 - Respondents with post-secondary education	2015 - Respondents with post-secondary education
The financial benefits are LARGER than the costs	41%	50%
The financial benefits are ABOUT THE SAME as the costs	15%	13%
The financial benefits are SMALLER than the costs	23%	18%
I don't know	21%	18%

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Figure 9. Believe to have the level of education and training needed for the type of job that you would like to hold in the next 5 years
Educational Attainment	All respondents
Less than high school	29%
High school diploma or equivalent GED	35%
Some college, no degree or certification	30%
Certificate or technical degree	54%
Associate degree	38%
Bachelor’s degree	59%
Master’s degree	76%
Professional or Doctorate degree	90%

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Figure 10. How much each reason describes why you are not enrolled (Among those who are interested in additional education, but are not currently enrolled)
	Very Much describes why not enrolled	Somewhat describes why not enrolled	Total
I am in the process of applying	11%	15%	26%
The program is not offered at my local institutions	7%	21%	28%
I am concerned the programs will be too challenging	6%	23%	29%
I don’t meet the requirements to enroll	8%	22%	30%
I don’t know where to enroll	7%	26%	33%
I am concerned that even after the program, I will not land a job in my field	12%	29%	41%
I am gaining work experience	15%	29%	44%
I don’t know which program will improve my job opportunities	16%	29%	45%
The schedule does not work for me	17%	31%	48%
I have family responsibilities	25%	23%	48%
I can’t afford to enroll	33%	28%	61%
I don’t want to borrow money to enroll	33%	31%	64%

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Figure 11. Received information about jobs and careers
	2013	2015
During high school	63%	66%
During college (if applicable)	66%	69%

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Figure 12. Where did you obtain information about jobs and careers?
	During high school	During college (if applicable)
High school teacher/college professor or counselor	76%	71%
Online research	41%	57%
on-campus research		45%
Friends and family	49%	43%
Parent(s)	56%	37%
Career fair		23%
Employment services agency	11%	15%
A business where I worked	7%	13%

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Figure 13. When you last searched for a job, please indicate whether you used each of the following strategies during the whole process
	Bachelor's degree	Certificate or technical degree	High school or less
I contacted the employer directly	61%	44%	64%
Searched electronic job boards (e.g., Monster, CareerBuilder)	53%	42%	29%
Family and friends (not parents) provided a contact	27%	30%	29%
Posted online resume / advertisement (e.g., LinkedIn, Twitter)	31%	36%	21%
Recruited by employer	22%	19%	18%
My parents(s) provided a contact	13%	7%	15%
Career fair	21%	5%	12%
Services from an employment center	11%	6%	10%
Services from school, teacher, professor, or counselor	17%	17%	8%
New job within company I was already employed by	12%	10%	8%

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Box 4 Figure B. Where did you obtain information about jobs and careers? (by race and ethnicity)
	White	Black	Hispanic
Received information from parents	66%	51%	41%
Received information from friends	53%	49%	40%

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Figure 14. Permanent and temporary job status (among Employees)
	Percent
Permanent/long-term	78
Temporary	14
I don't know	7

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Figure 15. Full-time and part-time job status (among Employees)
	Percent
Part-time	25
Full-time	75

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Figure 16. Number of paid jobs in past year and number or paid jobs expect to have in coming year
	How many paid jobs have you had in the past year?	How many paid jobs do you expect to have in the next year?
One full-time job	63%	80%
Two full-time jobs	15%	6%
Three or more full-time jobs	3%	2%
One part-time job	32%	32%
Two part-time jobs	10%	6%
Three or more part-time jobs	6%	4%
Expect to work at more than one job at the same time (among respondents who have had or expect to have more than one job)	39%	50%

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Figure 17. Satisfaction with the total amount of salary or wages and benefits at the job or jobs you now hold
	Salary and wages-2013	Salary and wages-2015	Benefits-2013	Benefits-2015
Somewhat satisfied	38%	42%	24%	28%
Very Satisfied	12%	19%	18%	21%

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Figure 18. Access to benefits
	2013	2015
Have health insurance from any source	70%	82%
Received paid time off for sick leave and/or holidays from any of your paid jobs	59%	62%
Training opportunities through employer(s)	43%	43%

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Figure 19. Would you be able to pay your living expenses?
	If you were out of work for the next 4 weeks, would you able to pay your living expenses?-2013	If you were out of work for the next 4 weeks, would you able to pay your living expenses?-2015	If you were out of work for the next 3 months, would you able to pay your living expenses?-2013	If you were out of work for the next 3 months, would you able to pay your living expenses?-2015
Yes	38%	45%	24%	40%

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Experiences and Perspectives of Young Workers

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