This past Sunday, hundreds of Siena College graduates donned lightweight black gowns and placed tasseled caps on their heads for their 9:45 a.m. commencement.
Given the bleak national outlook for post-collegiate hiring, perhaps they should have suited up in sturdier combat attire: They and their fellow graduates nationwide face a fierce battle just to secure a job interview, let alone full-time employment.
About 2.4 million students will graduate with bachelor’s and associates degrees as part of the Class of 2010, says the National Center for Education Statistics.
Those job-seekers will go head-to-head not only with fellow classmates but also with laid-off workers, financially strapped retirees and still-unemployed 2009 and 2008 grads. There are more than five job seekers for every opening, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures analyzed by outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas.
You are going to see a huge spike in unemployment come June. My son will be one of them. Just graduating with a Bahelor’s in Business, no jobs to be found.