Unemployment: 1 in 2 New Graduates Either Jobless Or Underemployed

The Associated Press reports that a weak labor market has already left 50% of young college graduates either underemployed or without a job entirely. The 2012 graduated college class is expected to have a tough time in the U.S. job market.

Those recent graduates with bachelor’s degrees are increasingly finding themselves in low-earning occupations such as being a bartender, receptionist, waiter/waitress, and so on; that is of course, if they’re lucky enough to not be a victim of unemployment. Taking higher tuition fees and accumulated student loans into account has left some young adults discouraged as their inability to find a job utilizing their knowledge and skills is far from easy.

While opportunities for college graduates vary to a great extent, there is currently strong demand for those educated in the fields of science, health, and education. On the other hand, there is little demand for those with degrees in arts and humanities.

When taking into account underemployment, job prospects for those boasting bachelor’s degrees fell last year to the lowest point it has been in more than a decade.

Michael Bledsoe, a 23-year-old graduate with a creative writing degree, described his own futile attempt at locating a job as he was quoted by Y! News having said:

“I don’t even know what I’m looking for. There is not much out there, it seems.”

Harvard economist Richard Freeman, noting the rising risk of a U.S. student loan debt bubble, stated:

“You can make more money on average if you go to college, but it’s not true for everybody. If you’re not sure what you’re going to be doing, it probably bodes well to take some job, if you can get one, and get a sense first of what you want from college.”

What would your suggestion be for all of the underemployed and jobless college graduates?