美国年轻人年收入锐减1万美元

    秋季来临。全美各地的大学校园中成千上万的学生们正在选择专业，希望藉此为将来获得梦寐以求的工作做好准备。但他们可能也很失望，因为听说很多学长学姐们都在咖啡馆做招待，赚取微薄的收入。

    确实，美国年轻人的生计比以前更严峻了。发展政策研究所（Progressive Policy Institute）对美国人口普查局（U.S. Census）最新数据的研究显示，25-34岁拥有本科学历的年轻人全职工作的实际收入已连续六年下降。2011年，他们赚的钱比2005年少了10,000美元，经通胀调整后的收入从64,500美元减少到了54,500美元。

    最令人费解的并不是去年或前年的情况。《财富》杂志（Fortune）向这家位于华盛顿特区的智囊机构发问：年轻大学毕业生收入下滑的情况相比其他全职工作者怎样？经济学家戴安娜•卡鲁仔细研究了大量的数据后发现，2009年，年轻大学毕业生的收入破天荒地低于其他所有18岁及以上的就业者群体（无论受教育程度）。2004年，美国楼市一片繁荣，年轻大学毕业生的收入出现了增长，而其他全职工作者的薪资继续停滞不前。2005年随着市场开始出现降温迹象，年轻大学毕业生的收入从64,500美元的峰值急速下降到了2009年的56,500美元。

    此次大萧条的金融震荡已经在年轻人身上打上了印记。金融危机爆发后这几年，他们的收入加速下降，一直来到今天的水平。

    卡鲁说，目前还不清楚是什么导致了2009年的急转弯。总的来说，2005年以来的下降趋势反映了她所谓的“大挤压”时代，大学毕业生开始从事技术含量更低的工作——如牙医助手、巴士司机和美发师等不需要本科学历的工作。与此同时，中产阶级就业机会（像教师、销售代表和金融分析师）持续减少。

    不过，尽管如此，受过大学教育的人仍然普遍比没有本科学历的人过得好——即便很多人也不得不搬回家与父母同住。

    正如《财富》杂志去年所指，大学毕业生一生赚的钱远远高于只有高中学历的人。就算大学学费不断飙升，上大学仍然物有所值。

    鉴于大学毕业生面临的问题，我们更应关注那些没机会上大学的人所面临的困境。如果就连大学毕业生们也只能接受那些不需要本科学历的工作，数百万只有高中文凭、在边缘挣扎的年轻人又会怎么样？

    Fall has arrived. Across U.S. college campuses, thousands of students are deciding on majors that will hopefully prep them for the job they've dreamed of. But they're probably also pretty discouraged, having heard that so many graduates before them are spending their days as baristas earning a measly wage.

    Indeed, it's tougher out there for America's young people. For the sixth year in a row, real earnings declined for 25 to 34-year-olds with a bachelor's degree working full-time, according to Progressive Policy Institute's look at the latest U.S. Census data. In 2011, they earned $10,000 less than they did in 2005, falling from an inflation-adjusted $64,500 to $54,500.

    What's most perplexing isn't what happened last year or even the year before. Fortune asked the Washington, DC-based think tank how the slide in earnings of young college grads compares to most other full-timers. Economist Diana Carew crunched the numbers and found that in 2009, earnings for young graduates fell below all other workers 18 years old or older, regardless of education, for the first time. Young college-educated workers saw their earnings rise in 2004 amid the height of the U.S. housing market boom, while wages and salaries for all other full-timers continued to stagnate. As the market started showing signs of cooling in 2005, young graduates saw earnings immediately plunge from their $64,500 peak to $56,500 by 2009.

    The financial turmoil of the Great Recession has almost certainly left a mark on young people. In the years following the downturn, the drop in earnings accelerated to where they are today.

    It's uncertain what drove the 2009 turnover, Carew says. More broadly, the decline since 2005 reflects what she's coined "The Great Squeeze," where college grads take lower-skilled jobs – jobs like dental assistants, bus drivers and hairstylists that don't call for a bachelor's degree. This comes as middle-class jobs (think teachers, sales agents and financial analysts) continue to shrink.

    But despite this bad news, the college-educated population is still generally better off with that bachelor's degree than not – even if many have been forced to move back in with mom and dad.

    As Fortune highlighted last year, college grads earn much more over a lifetime than those with only a high school diploma. A college education is worth it, even with the soaring costs of tuition.

    The problems that college grads face should bring attention to the plight of those who aren't as lucky to go to college. As graduates are forced to take jobs that don't demand a bachelor's degree, what happens to the millions of struggling young adults with only a high school diploma?