Tough News for those Graduating in 2010 – Job Seekers Vastly Outnumber Available Jobs
Sunday, September 27th, 2009A month to the day we recommended that the Class of 2010 begin examining all their future options, that next year’s graduate should begin thinking about what they might do instead of simply entering the workforce. Our rationale was simple, the current unemployment rates and the impact of two poor successive job placement years meant that job opportunities next spring are likely to be no better than those seen last spring.
Lest our readers have any doubt regarding our advice, that particular scenario has been reinforced by data relayed today by the New York Times. According to the Times, Labor Department statistics for the month of July revealed that just “2.4 million full-time permanent jobs were open” yet there were “14.5 million people officially unemployed.”
That represents a six to one ratio, the worst such ratio since the Labor Department began tracking such numbers. The sum total is that workers will continue to be looking for employment for a much longer period than has occurred in prior recessions.
And that means that those graduating in 2010 will be competing with a number of experienced workers for the very few job openings available.
Long Term Impact
While some economists believe the recession is over, this data reveals that the recession could well be a double-dipper, if not a stagnator. The high unemployment rates mean that a large segment of America still has little in the way of disposable income and will remain in such a plight for the near future.
Therefore, the high unemployment rates also will ultimately translate to a continued reduction in consumer spending. Given the dependence of our nation’s economy on consumer spending, this current scenario could well mean that the ugly head of recession may reemerge in the not distant future.
The current situation also represents a major issue for federal and state budgets. Fewer workers translates to fewer taxable dollars coming into the government coffers, both in income and sales based taxes. That likely means more in the way of layoffs at the state and federal levels.
The job losses have also resulted in a large number of early retirement claims from laid-off seniors. Overall, applications for retirement benefits are up 23 percent over a year.
That means that Social Security is about to pay out more in benefits than it collects in taxes over the next two years (the first such occurrence since the 1980s). This will, of course, only make those federal budget deficit numbers for 2010 and 2011 that much worse.
Student Options
Overall, this data indicates that those graduating in 2010 should begin to research options other than the traditional workforce, including the Peace Corps, Americorps, Teach for America and graduate school. Given the state of the economy, the current situation means that these options could all well be out of the question for those who procrastinate.
If you are graduating in 2010, now is the time to begin thinking about all your options.
“Because, in our world of instant gratification, people desperately want to believe that there are simple solutions to complex problems. And when desperation has disposable income, market opportunities abound.”





However, in 2008, the numbers were nearly halved. Just 26 percent of those graduating who had applied for a job had one in hand by the time of graduation.
Most people think overdraft protection is a good thing. First of all, if a bank returns a check without paying it, instead of an overdraft fee, you will likely be charged a “bounced-check,” or “insufficient funds,” fee. In addition, the company that you sent your check to may also charge you a “returned-check” fee. That decision is separate from any made by a bank.
If at some point you do overdraw an account, make a deposit as soon as is possible. That deposit must cover both the overdraft fee and the amount the account was overdrawn.
But most were merciless in their criticism of the 27-year-old. Robbie Cooper at
The availability to readily access information on the web about a candidate has created a whole new phenomena called personal branding. It is a concept every high school and college student needs to become aware of and breaks down simply: it is extremely important that when your name is Googled, positive information comes up.
Instead of free access, he suggests we are on our way to another path, one where 
You can buy channels 1 – 23 or 1 – 80 or some other ridiculous combination. But you can’t negotiate a price for the five or six or if you are lucky, ten channels, you might actually watch.
Move forward to 2009 and here in the northeast nothing could be further from reality. In the State of Maine one has to hunt down a Panera Bread to be able to find a sit down, leisure option, for such access. Amazingly, one cannot even get free wi-fi while waiting for one of those indeterminably-delayed flights at the Portland Jetport.
That is not a problem in our eyes. As we noted earlier, we had anticipated a sales model in return for access. Even if it does involve significant marketing, it is no different than any other magazine, newspaper or web site. 
Set to get underway August 1st, the Yellow Ribbon program sets up a partnership between a school and the federal government. Under the campaign, colleges may match the government’s contribution of the cost of an education.