Fewer Jobs, More Graduates: Rare As Job Hunt Rises

Most students have heard about the financial crisis that has pummeled the stock market to multiyear lows, causing individuals to stop spending and secure their savings.

Its even led Barack Obama to bill this as: “The worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.”

If you haven’t spent your free time watching market news on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” with gorgeous news anchor Maria Bartiromo, or if you’ve just paid attention to her and not what she said then here’s a short recap of what’s going on with our economy.

A housing boom had been going on for several years up until about a year ago when the housing “bubble” inevitably burst causing home prices to plummet and the financial crisis that our economy is in now.

Banks and mortgage lenders are suffering and this has led to the fall of many prominent banks that were once thought to be infallible.

Merrill Lynch & Co was sold to Bank of America and Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. filed for bankruptcy in what became the biggest bankruptcy in American history.

Other bank and mortgage lending failures include Bear Stearns, Inc, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and AIG.
I’m sure you’re asking yourself what does this mean to me and why do I care about what is happening on Wall Street?

Here is why: unemployment rate.

It’s up to a staggering 6.1 percent as of September and represents a 5-year high.

Just for comparison, this time last year it was at a much lower rate of 4.3 percent.

For the college student this is an important and scary statistic. Unemployment rates just don’t repair over night; it takes years to correct itself.

So for the graduating college student all the way down to students graduating 2-3 years from now jobs will be hard to come by.

Some people just don’t realize this or just don’t want to accept it, but it is something that comes and goes with economic cycles.

With  the increased lack of  multiple job openings, competitiveness is at an all time high.

“I’m going to have to work a lot harder in school now and maybe even study a less competitive major to compensate. I definitely feel like there’s a lot more pressure on me now,” said UT student Josh Zakheim.

Unfortunately, forecasts have the unemployment rate rising at least another point within 8 months.

The economic crisis has a domino effect from Wall Street all the way to your dorm.

Don’t let this crisis pass over you or anyone else for that matter. Discuss it and encourage others to do so as well!
    
Justin Bostwick may be reached at jbostwick@ut.edu.

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