Some say that there are too many people going to university, and others have spent many years lamenting that they cannot find the graduates they need. What is the actual state of the graduate labour market? How many graduates actually are there? How is a graduate job defined, and how many people are there in them? And what does the future hold for…

'Employers know that they can hire worldwide now … so, there is limitless supply of people … who can do the job … . they're all qualified, most of them are actually over-qualified … . I'm a wage slave basically, I don't think we have very much social status … . we are replaceable workers … I mean, the employer holds all the cards really. We are…

It is common for organizations such as the International Labour Organization and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development to acknowledge that the links between education and work are far from smooth, creating a "crisis" for youth. This includes increasing rates of unemployment, under-employment and precarious work. In…

This research explores the relationship between place and the career experiences of STEM-educated recent college graduates in the U.S. over the 2000-2010 decade. Specifically, it seeks to understand how these graduates' early career outcomes (earnings, odds of unemployment and underemployment) are contingent on the location where they received…

The experience of precarious employment is growing across the occupational spectrum and some scholars have predicted that there will be a corresponding rise in anger, anomie, anxiety and alienation amongst those affected. Exploring more intimately how precarity might be differently experienced and confronted, this paper bases itself on a dialogue…

Increasing numbers of recent college graduates are ending up in relatively low-skilled jobs that, historically, have gone to those with lower levels of educational attainment. This study examines this phenomenon in some detail, concluding: (1) About 48 percent of employed U.S. college graduates are in jobs that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)…

This paper compares the causes and consequences of employment instability among Mexican-origin women, White women, and White men. Data came from the work experience supplement in the March 1995 file of the Current Population Survey for a sample that included 1,399 Mexican-origin women, 17,092 White women, and 24,440 White men. All were experienced…

Investigates the question of socioeconomic background and estimates the incidence and labor market impacts of overeducation using data from Greece. Suggests that overeducation is a phenomenon that affects workers as they make their way through the labor market, and that overeducation is concentrated among university-educated workers with a…

Facts and figures related to the underemployment of college graduates are presented. Underemployment is defined as holding a job that requires less education than the employee has obtained. Topics which are discussed in this digest include: (1) the implications of underemployment for career development; (2) statistics on college enrollment and the…

Examined the relationship of age, sex, and previous educational and occupational experience to employment outcome in a survey of liberal arts graduates one year (N=218) and three years (N=156) after graduation. Results showed outcome variables were differently related to independent variables and relationships changed over time. (LLL)

Examined work role satisfaction as related to employment outcome among recipients of a liberal arts bachelor's degree at a state university, one year (N=218) and three years (N=156) after graduation. Results showed that Job Fit Index (a measure of underemployment), income, and job stability were all related to satisfaction. (LLL)

An Ontario (Canada) study used longitudinal data on high school seniors of 1973 to investigate educational and work decisions, looking at such factors as the influence of student characteristics on skill-to-job mismatch, predictors of mismatch for college versus university graduates, and effects of student exposure to alternative education on…

Examination of the employment situation of South Africa's recent university graduates finds many are taking jobs of lower status and income than graduates of previous periods, resulting in underemployment. A study of employment levels and labor demand in 812 companies suggests strategic enrollment management could play an important role in…

The specific intent of the study was to find out what college graduates mean when they say their job is related to their major, and to what extent and in what instances the major-job relationship influences job satisfaction. The effect of the relationship on job satisfaction and salary is examined, with separate chapters devoted to career outcomes…

Although many recent reports on the United States educational system urge increased investment in education to prepare students for the jobs of a high-tech future, a more immediate problem is that of the large proportion of the labor force which is currently "overeducated" or "underemployed." (JBM)