Job market a bigger issue for students than ever before

The United States Senate is struggling to pass a bill to extend unemployment insurance. On Oct. 13, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid asked for clearance to pass this bill, but it was shot down by GOP senators who have issues with how the extension would be funded and with the fact that the bill did not equally include all states. It is important that these issues be resolved and this passes quickly to help the Americans who are running out of unemployment insurance.

Sen. Jim Webb (D) VA, who co-sponsored the proposal, said in a press release from his office that almost 2 million Americans will run out of unemployment insurance by the end of the year.

The unsuccessful bill would have extended unemployment insurance for the states that have an unemployment rate above 8.5 percent. A possible amendment to the bill would be to extend those benefits to all states.

This amendment would help the bill pass more easily the next time it comes to a vote, and it would help more jobless Americans weather tough economic times. Texas, which has reached an unemployment rate higher than it has been for the last 20 years, has still not lost enough jobs to qualify for the extension without this amendment. However, when the over 900,000 jobless people in Texas run out of unemployment insurance, it is not going to be any less hard on them than it would be for the 8.6 percent of unemployed people in Maine or Pennsylvania.

This is undoubtedly a complicated issue, but it is one that college students should care more about. As young people about to enter the workforce, issues surrounding not only unemployment insurance, but all aspects of the job market should be a priority for college students as voters.

College age students are experiencing a record joblessness rate that some experts believe has the potential to cripple an entire generation professionally. According to a Business Weekly analysis, college graduates under 27 years old are having almost twice as hard of a time finding jobs than their 28-50 year old counterparts. Studies have shown that this kind of slow start to a professional career can decrease the amount of income one can expect to make in their life.

This bill should be passed quickly, and college students should care about this bill passing quickly and about the job market in general, because it affects them more than anybody else