This Labor Day, the 45 million young people in the nation's work force face a choppy job market in which entry-level wages have often trailed inflation, making it hard for many to cope with high housing costs and rising college debt loads. Entry-level wages for college and high school graduates fell by more than 4 percent from 2001 to 2005, after factoring in inflation. In addition, the percentage of college graduates receiving health and pension benefits in their entry-level jobs has dropped sharply.
See "Many Entry-Level Workers Feel Pinch of Rough Market", Steven Greenhouse, The New York Times, September 3, 2006