Stephen Moore quoted Dr. Richard Vedder, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Economics at Ohio University, in a Heritage Foundation article on “Obama’s Economy: Where Did All The Young Workers Go?”
Economists are scratching their heads trying to figure out a puzzle in this recovery: Why are young people not working? People retiring at age 60 or even 55 in a weak economy is easy to understand. But at 25?
The percentage of adult Americans who are working or looking for work now stands at 62.8%, a 36-year low and down more than 3 percentage points since late 2007, according to the Labor Department’s May employment report.
Saltsman’s research shows that a 10% rise in the minimum wage could mean a 2% or 3% decline in young Americans working. Seattle is raising its minimum wage to $15 an hour. A $10.10 federal minimum wage is being pushed by the White House. The current minimum wage is $7.25.
“When wages are held artificially high,” says Ohio University economics professor Richard Vedder, “jobs are a lot more scarce. Unemployment is negatively associated with the wage rate.”
High teen unemployment is a big problem in Europe, where wage floors are very high. In nations such as France and Spain, the young delay their entry into the workforce until their mid- or even late 20s. These workers’ wages rarely catch up to those who start working earlier. Europe has traditionally had a much smaller share of young adults in jobs.
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