New Grads & Unemployment
Morgan Oliver, 23, who graduated with a 3.82 GPA last May, is having trouble getting a job. She’s not alone. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show college graduates between the ages of 20 and 24 had a 7.7 percent unemployment rate in January, nearly double the jobless rate of older grads.
She says she has sent out somewhere between 300 and 500 applications. They’re each a little message of optimism. Maybe this job will be the job, a job. Her in box is filled with automated replies. She’s lucky to get a personal rejection.
“I kind of feel like the failure in the family, which is sad,” Oliver says. “And I just want — my parents gave me a lot, so I want them to be proud of me. And I know they spent a lot of time and effort and money on giving me a good education and home and a good upbringing, and it should have paid off.”
(via NPR)