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May 9, 2008
The unemployment rate in Georgia is higher than the national average, according to the Georgia Department of Labor. With more than 5.3 percent of the state's workforce out of a job, competition is tough for new college graduates.
Lanita Hurt goes online every day, looking for her first job out of college. She majors in business management at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville and hopes to get experience so she can run her own business.
"It seems like it's gonna be really tough to get a job anytime soon... cause I know the economy is not doing so well right now so a lot of people aren't hiring as much," Hurt said.
Companies says they will hire fewer grads than they planned to, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). In August, employers told NACE they'd hire 16 percent more graduates this year. But when asked again in February, employers said they planned to hire just eight percent more college graduates.
Jennifer Cash, Assistant Director of the Career Center at GCSU, understands students' concerns about the economy.
"Gas prices going up, food prices going up, and that creates some uncertainty," Cash said. "But overall, nationally we're still looking at more college students coming out with job offers or job offers coming to them not long after graduating."
Students who majored in accounting, mechanical and electrical engineering, and business administration do particularly well, Cash said. On average, it takes six to nine months to find a job, Cash added.
The National Association of Colleges and Employers calculates the average starting salary for graduates will increase by five percent this year.
As Hurt searches for her job, she works to stay optimistic.
"I guess it's gonna be worth it in the end, but right now it seems like a lot," she said.
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