In the 1980s men without a high school degree used to have lower unemployment rates than men in other educational groups, but in 2009 the proportion of them losing jobs reached an unprecedented high. The cyclical labor market situations after 2000 affect young adults‟ economic prospects not only through heightened unemployment but also through lowered average earnings across major occupations in the one to two years after the economic shocks of 2001 and 2008.