Unemployment
Working 9-5, what a way to make a livin'...
In today’s newsletter, we dive into unemployment. Initially, we focus in specifically on youth unemployment and how this varies country by country. Then, we visualise which university degrees are least likely to find you a job after graduation, and finally we plot the US unemployment rate from 2000 to present.
Youth unemployment
Djibouti has the highest youth unemployment rate as of 2022, with almost 80% of 15-24s without work. The country has a small economy and a limited demand in very specialised sectors, which makes it all the more difficult for young people to enter the workforce. Common contributing factors across regions include inadequate educational systems that often fail to equip young people with the skills demanded by evolving industries, a lack of job creation, and economic instability. On the other hand, Qatar has only 0.3% youth unemployment, which is due to the country’s ability to “absorb young nationals into public sector jobs.”
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College majors with highest unemployment
Fine arts takes the top spot by quite a margin at 12.1%. This is not necessarily surprising as it is quite a specialised field, with a limited number of jobs leading to a high unemployment rate. The next 9 majors are grouped fairly close together and include philosophy, foreign language, and performing arts.
US unemployment rate
Since 2000, the US unemployment rate has faced a few peaks and troughs. In 2002, the rate rose as a result of a recession in 2001. Then, it peaked further in 2010 as a consequence of the financial crisis (unemployment tends to be a lagging indicator). However, this was not close to the high unemployment rates experienced during the pandemic in 2020. While this level of high unemployment was relatively short-lived, it represented the greatest number of people out of work since the Great Depression.
Created by Amara