Graduating students are concerned about entering the job market as inflation soars
Inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index rose by a record 7.5% year-over-year in January 2022, the largest jump since 1982.
'As a financially conscious college student the thought of such high inflation terrifies me,' one student told Campus Reform.
As inflation reaches new highs, creating uncertainty in financial markets, students graduating this semester are worried about whether they will be able to achieve financial stability.
The American economy and working families have been hit with rising inflation over the last year.
Inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index rose by a record 7.5% year-over-year in January 2022, the largest jump since 1982.
In December 2021, the core Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, an additional measure of inflation, rose 4.9% compared to the previous year. This was the largest year-over-year jump since September of 1983.
The buying power of the US Dollar is decreasing as prices continue to rise at a record pace, with wage increases unable to keep up with rising inflation.
Concurrently, a 2021 study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that nearly 50% of the class of 2020 did not obtain a job within their desired industry within six months of graduation.
Campus Reform spoke to multiple students trying to enter the workforce.
”In terms of employment and the prospects after graduating getting a job, I have concerns,” Daniel Wagner, a senior at Florida Gulf Coast University, told Campus Reform.
”Thinking about graduating and getting a career in the workforce, that’s a big concern of mine, not just for me, but for peers,” Wagner added. “I would hope that people are being fairly compensated with all this inflation.”
Grant Stiles, a senior at the University of Illinois-Chicago, told Campus Reform, “As a financially conscious college student the thought of such high inflation terrifies me.”
”It causes me to worry about my retirement and financial well-being,” Stiles continued. “The economic uncertainty we have been facing also makes it more difficult to find a job that treats and compensates their employees well.”
According to Pew Research, long-term unemployment had risen “sharply” since the beginning of the pandemic with “about four-in-ten unemployed workers have been out of a job more than six months,” which is a higher rate than the 2008 “Great Recession.”
[RELATED: Students face sticker shock as college costs rise]
Though students are worried about the economy, they still expressed some hope whether for them personally or the country.
”Despite the issues my generation is facing, I have hope that things will improve in the future as long as enough people speak out against the failures of this out-of-control government,” Stiles said.
”I’m confident in my ability to enter the workforce,” Garret Scheidt, a senior at Stetson University, said.
”I’m confident to get money out of the job I’m seeking, but I’m not confident in the future of our economy, especially in terms of inflation and hyperinflation and in terms of what that means for my job,” Scheidt elaborated.
The Director of Content Strategy for the National Association of Colleges and Employers, Mimi Collins, told Campus Reform, “I would expect that the Class of 2021 fared better than the Class of 2020 did initially” as the economy moves beyond the height of the pandemic.
Follow @PeterCordi on Twitter
