For ‘09 Grads, Job Prospects Take a Dive
By: Alex Chung
Due to the financial crisis and downfall of the market, jobs for the graduates of ’09 don’t look too appealing. Students across the country are all starting to worry because they don’t feel as if they will be have jobs after college. Employers are looking to trim their recruiting and hiring due to the slow economy. These employers plan to hire just 1.3% more graduates in 2009 than they hired in the year of 2008 according to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
That is the weakest position since the year 2002, which reveals a sharp decline. What’s odd is that just two months ago the same group,NACE, took a survey projecting a 6.1% increase in hiring. It has dropped more than 4% in only two months. This decline has occurred due to the decline of Lehman Brothers in bankruptcy protection and Merrill Lynch & Co being acquired. General Electric hired around 900 undergrads and M.B.A. graduates for full time jobs in the U.S. this year but about 10% is expected to be laid off by next spring. It is going to be tough for the class of ’09 than it has ever been in previous years.
The weaker job market is clearly at universities in the Northeast and schools that are basically related to the finance sector. About 15% fewer companies are recruiting on campus this year and the decline is due to financial services firms. Salaries are also going to suffer. There was an increase of 7.6% in the starting salary paid for the 2008 graduates at about $49,224 but the starting salaries are going to stay the same or decline next year.
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I am totally agree with what you said. It is extremely hard for 2009 grad to find a job in this type of market now. There are lots of my friends who are still looking for full-time job. Some companies even limited the number of interns that they are going to hire this year compare to previous years. All I am hoping now is waiting for the market to get better.
huali22 - December 2, 2008 at 11:51 pm
I have read that there has been an increase in grads trying to take an entrepreneurship path. This is probably the same with graduate school, and people who want to attend these instead of going to work.
bkriger - December 3, 2008 at 12:17 am
I’m graduating in december of 2009, and while i have a plan on what I might do, I feel that even getting an internship is somewhat difficult these days. Im going to be going to grad school so I dont have to worry too much about getting a job yet but ive looked around and it seems pretty hard to find that dream job. i guess well see what happens in the next couple of years though and hopefully by the time i graduate from grad school ill find a job i would really like
brianhubbell - December 3, 2008 at 1:32 am
There have been so many reports about layoffs for big companies such as Citi and JPMorgan Chase, it is no wonder that graduates of 2009 are having difficulty finding jobs. Since I am graduating next semester, I find myself contemplating what me career path will be. Although, Finance is the industry I ultimately like to work in, the opportunities seem bleak. “Settling” for other jobs can be temporary but can also become permanent. It will be interesting to see how long the trend in low employment rates continue.
jasonhong1 - December 3, 2008 at 2:43 am
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Betting Video Blog » Blog Archive » Flip-Mania Part 1: Sports - December 3, 2008 at 3:39 pm
I am still hoping to get a job but everyday the chances seem worse. I guess alot of us will end up living at home or in grad school.
patricksullivan - December 3, 2008 at 8:33 pm
I think a direct effect of all these financial problems is going to be spikes in applications to graduate school. People are being layed off and people are getting out of college with no job to go to. All these people will resort to going back to school because thats what they feel is all they can do. This unfortunately may be true. If there are no jobs, might as well be proactive and be more qualified and educated when this crisis turns around.
tessamacdougall - December 3, 2008 at 10:58 pm
At this rate, by the time we graduate, there will be no jobs left for us. With that being said, I may decide to stay in school, get my graduate degree and hopefully in three years the market will have gotten better.
tomflynn0529 - December 4, 2008 at 4:48 pm
This is really not good. Everywhere I am applying for a job, I hear of the company just laying people off. It really sucks to be a senior right now even if you have a job lined up for you because everyone is laying people off and they would rather lay off the less experienced than the more experienced. I now have to think about going to grad school which I don’t really want to but that is basically my only option right now. We will see what happens.
joshgoodman3 - December 4, 2008 at 6:34 pm
I heard that a lot of the companies in the finance field are hesitant to hire college graduates because they would rather hire people who already have intense job experience or grad students. But also we need to not be afraid to put in applications with companies that don’t make it evident they are hiring. I know several people who got job with companies like Smith and Barney even though the company never made it clear they were accepting applications.
kush5 - December 7, 2008 at 11:53 pm