Youth unemployment in the south of Spain: WTF?!?
At least you both have jobs
The overwhelming sentiment here in Spain when it comes to Jose and my work situation is that we should be very thankful that we are both working (and we are). Current unemployment statistics for the youth here is Spain is hovering around 56%. That is a really scary statistic which for us personally has translated into many friends looking rather unsuccessfully for jobs that just do not seem to exist. A lot of them are considering or are looking outside of the country for positions.
People are constantly telling us how fortunate we are that as a young couple we are both employed and I understand that feeling but we should be the norm, not the exception to the rule. We are young, able bodied and well educated (just like most of our friends). We SHOULD be working and rather than feeling lucky about it, I sometimes get indignant about the whole situation. What has cracked here during this economic crisis that what was once considered ordinary and was expected has now become extraordinary and exceptional? Why has the thought process now become that if you find a job you hold on to it no matter the pay, lack of upward mobility, how you are treated by your employer, etc? Why is just the fact that you bring home a paycheck enough? I realize many of these questions are secondary issues when the main concern is getting your foot in the door to begin with and I don´t want to sound ungrateful but the economic situation here in Spain seems to have warped people´s mindset.
I guess what I am getting at is that instead of saying, "Wow, it is really wonderful that you both are gainfully employed." What we should be saying is, "Wow, WTF is going on with Spain when a young couple having dual incomes is almost unheard of?" I sometimes get tired of having to reply to people when they say something along the lines of the first expression above. I want to point out that though I am thankful for my opportunities, it is CRAZY that you even need to mention them. Working should be normal. Jobs should be available for a generation much better educated than those that came before it. If you are willing and able, you should be able to begin a life, have children, provide for a family, plan for the future, buy a home. That should be the normal and right now it is not.
What is the solution?
Hell if I know. I am not naive enough to think that there really might be one. Something has to change though because I think this system is unsustainable. What I do believe is that answers, solutions, ideas and innovations that can make an impact will come from people in my generation, that hopefully we will begin to solve problems that were not created by us but that affect us all the same.
The overwhelming sentiment here in Spain when it comes to Jose and my work situation is that we should be very thankful that we are both working (and we are). Current unemployment statistics for the youth here is Spain is hovering around 56%. That is a really scary statistic which for us personally has translated into many friends looking rather unsuccessfully for jobs that just do not seem to exist. A lot of them are considering or are looking outside of the country for positions.
People are constantly telling us how fortunate we are that as a young couple we are both employed and I understand that feeling but we should be the norm, not the exception to the rule. We are young, able bodied and well educated (just like most of our friends). We SHOULD be working and rather than feeling lucky about it, I sometimes get indignant about the whole situation. What has cracked here during this economic crisis that what was once considered ordinary and was expected has now become extraordinary and exceptional? Why has the thought process now become that if you find a job you hold on to it no matter the pay, lack of upward mobility, how you are treated by your employer, etc? Why is just the fact that you bring home a paycheck enough? I realize many of these questions are secondary issues when the main concern is getting your foot in the door to begin with and I don´t want to sound ungrateful but the economic situation here in Spain seems to have warped people´s mindset.
I guess what I am getting at is that instead of saying, "Wow, it is really wonderful that you both are gainfully employed." What we should be saying is, "Wow, WTF is going on with Spain when a young couple having dual incomes is almost unheard of?" I sometimes get tired of having to reply to people when they say something along the lines of the first expression above. I want to point out that though I am thankful for my opportunities, it is CRAZY that you even need to mention them. Working should be normal. Jobs should be available for a generation much better educated than those that came before it. If you are willing and able, you should be able to begin a life, have children, provide for a family, plan for the future, buy a home. That should be the normal and right now it is not.
What is the solution?
Hell if I know. I am not naive enough to think that there really might be one. Something has to change though because I think this system is unsustainable. What I do believe is that answers, solutions, ideas and innovations that can make an impact will come from people in my generation, that hopefully we will begin to solve problems that were not created by us but that affect us all the same.
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