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Recent graduates’ unemployment rate decline sets “positive attitude”

A Friday report released by The Federal Reserve Bank of New York indicates a decrease in unemployment of recent college grads between September 2014 and September 2015. ILLUSTRATION BY SARAH SILBIGER/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
A Friday report released by The Federal Reserve Bank of New York indicates a decrease in unemployment of recent college grads between September 2014 and September 2015. ILLUSTRATION BY SARAH SILBIGER/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The unemployment rate for recent U.S. college graduates between 22 and 27 years old has fallen from 5.3 percent in September 2014 to 4.9 percent in September 2015, according to a Friday report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

In a one-year period from September 2014 to September 2015, college graduate unemployment rates dropped from 3.4 percent to 2.8 percent, young workers’ rates declined rom 11.6 percent to 10 percent and the general unemployment rate for all workers decreased from 6.3 percent to 5.3 percent.

The report defines college graduates as those aged 22 to 65 with a bachelor’s degree or higher, young workers as those between the age of 22 and 27 without a bachelor’s degree and all workers as people aged 16 to 65.

Kevin Lang, an economics professor in Boston University’s College of Arts and Sciences, said a positive attitude is key to eliminating unemployment for recent college graduates entering the labor force and those already looking for employment.

“The ‘really good’ jobs that [recent college graduates] are interested in are getting lots of applicants,” Lang said. “They’re not able to review everyone carefully, and if you happen to come to the attention of somebody and go to the interview having done your homework, you have a shot at it. If you go to the interview with the idea that you won’t get the job, then you won’t.”

He also warned against “scatter shots,” or sending many applications without a specific aim. Students should be knowledgeable of their potential employer and provide a cover letter indicative of what the company require, he said.

“You do want to send out lots of applications because your hit rate is going to be low, but you want to do it with efficient care to raise that hit rate.”

Lang also said he deemed the unemployment statistics cautiously optimistic and that “it takes a while” to find jobs when students initially enter the job market.

“That’s a little bit of an underestimate in the sense that there are always people that are not looking for jobs because they didn’t get them, but basically all college graduates get jobs,” he said.

Overall, college graduates have an unemployment rate of 5 percent and underemployment rate of 45.1 percent with a median wage of $38,000 in their early career and a median wage of $62,000 in their mid career, according to the report’s figures representing a 2013-14 average.

Certain degrees have direct links to certain jobs and are more specifically suited at first glance for job recruiters, Lang said.

“If your degree is in accounting, that means that you have a very marketable skill from the day you graduate,” he said. “But if your degree is in classics, it’s less obvious what job you’re suited for, and there’s more of a process of finding the job for which you have the appropriate skills.”

The report also charts underemployment statistics, which the report defines as a graduate working in a job that does not typically require a college degree. From September 2014 to September 2015, the underemployment rate for recent college graduates also dropped, from 45.3 percent to 44.1 percent.

The underemployment rate for general college graduates also dropped slightly, from 34.6 percent to 34.4 percent. The report further showed that underemployment trends are less drastic of a decrease than the unemployment rates, primarily remaining stagnant or without major change.

Several students said the report’s result demonstrate a larger opening for recent college graduates to pursue a successful life following graduation.

Erin Lim, a freshman in CAS, said she thought the findings of the report indicate more opportunities for college graduates to be employed.

“People will have a positive outlook once they start looking for jobs, because a lower percentage [of unemployment] means a higher percentage for them getting jobs, so maybe it will make them feel more confident,” she said.

Hannah Wolf, a sophomore in the Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, was more skeptical of the information, having previously taken an economics class.

“There are still a lot of people unemployed but not technically unemployed, so it sounds nice but sometimes things sound nice and aren’t necessarily true,” Wolf said.

Saiansha Panangipalli, a freshman in the College of Communication said she feels positive about the information as an international student entering the job market soon.

“That is really good news for me, because a part of why I chose to come to the United States to pursue my higher education is to get a good job from a good college,” she said. “Knowing those percentages is positive for my resume and opens up doors for opportunities worldwide.”

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