Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

    • ex. Good employers listen to employees' concerns.
    • ex. She is studying nursing at a local university.
    • ex. The report contains detailed information about the project.
  1. inexperienced
    • ex. The coach helped the inexperienced players improve their skills.
  2. favor
    • ex. The company favored local suppliers whenever possible.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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New research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York says remote work has increased unemployment among young college graduates. Employers are now more careful about hiring recent graduates for jobs that can be done from home.

The study compared remote jobs like software work with in-person jobs such as nursing. It found that joblessness for young graduates in remote work rose by about one percentage point since before the pandemic, while older workers saw a small drop.

Researchers said companies prefer experienced workers because it is harder to train new staff in remote teams. The study also noted that artificial intelligence had little effect on youth unemployment in this research. A detailed analysis of a Fortune 500 tech company showed that fewer inexperienced workers were hired during remote work periods. After offices reopened, hiring of younger workers increased again. But companies still favored experienced staff for remote teams. This shows a slower recovery for new graduates in the job market, according to the study findings from New York Fed researchers.

This material was based on an article by The Associated Press.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Remote Work

  • What do you think about remote work? Discuss.
  • Imagine you are a young graduate applying for a job. Would you look for remote work or an in-office job? Why? Discuss.
  • In your country, do you think many companies will shift to remote work in the future? Why do you say so? Discuss.

Hiring Young Workers

  • Imagine you are an employer. Who would you hire for your company: a young graduate or an experienced employee? Why? Discuss.
  • Do you think young graduates are given enough chances in today’s job market? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • If you are an employer hiring young graduates, what qualities would you look for in your new hire? Discuss.