Today, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL runs an article about "youth magnet" cities that have few [good] jobs. One of them is Portland, Oregon. But is this news? What might have been news is a story about a "youth magnet" city which had tons of [good] jobs.
I was among the youth who found Ann Arbor, Michigan in the exciting end of the '60s. A liberal college town, it was a magnet for educated young people. The problem then and, I assume, the problem now is that few of us could find anything beyond survival jobs. In fact, retail along the main drag - State Street - had signs in the window, "Long Hours, Low Pay." My survival jobs included babysitting, filing for the a polling franchise which became famous, and being a teaching fellow in the English Department of the University of Michigan.
This situation persists in "youth magnet" places because youth, like I once was, is frequently short on marketable skills and the savvy how to present ourselves in competitive job-hunting. I vividly remember showing up for an interview as an office manager in a maxi dress, beads and hair loose to my waist. I didn't get the job. Someone over 30 did.
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