Summary of ONLY 50% Of 2020 College Grads Have Jobs So Far | Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar
The video discusses troubling data about the employment prospects of the 2020 college graduates, revealing that only 50% have secured traditional full-time jobs six months after graduation. This represents a sharp decline from the 55% employment rate of the 2019 graduates and is the lowest recorded since tracking began in 2014. The hosts highlight the broader economic challenges faced by young people, including the resumption of student loan payments under the Biden administration, with many graduates burdened by significantly higher student debt—averaging $36,100 compared to $24,000 in 2008—while wages have not kept pace.
They analyze how the pandemic has accelerated existing trends such as the shift from stable, full-time employment to gig and contract work, which offers fewer protections, no healthcare, and no pensions. This precarious job market contributes to long-term financial instability for millennials and Gen Z, who struggle to build wealth, buy homes, or start families. The hosts also note the mental health crisis among young people, marked by increased depression and suicidal thoughts, compounded by limited access to healthcare and economic opportunity.
Furthermore, the discussion points out that non-college young adults face even greater hardships, often burdened by consumer debt and lacking access to training or apprenticeships, which forces many to leave their hometowns and social support networks. While a four-year college degree still tends to yield higher wages, post-graduate education is increasingly necessary to secure middle-class status, which itself is becoming more stratified.
Overall, the hosts paint a bleak picture of a generation facing systemic economic precarity and diminishing prospects, worsened by the pandemic and structural shifts in the labor market, with little attention from mainstream media.
Presenters/Contributors:
Notable Quotes
— 01:00 — « Many of these people are going to be racking up mega high interest in terms of not being able to pay and looking for jobs in many cases they'll have to settle, go work in an industry or for something they didn't necessarily want to or study in. »
— 04:19 — « The data is really dystopian around young people: depression, suicidal thoughts, lack of access to health care services, lack of job opportunities. »
— 05:33 — « The country is just being ripped apart very, very slowly. »
— 05:44 — « You're still more likely to have a higher wage if you go to a four-year institution, but increasingly you have to go to post-grad as well to get a slot in the middle class. »
— 06:34 — « Best of all, great way to say screw you to the mainstream media. »
Category
News and Commentary