College Graduates Facing Unknown Future With Troubled Economy Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The Class of 2020 continues seeing the residual effects of the pandemic.
As students walk off their virtual graduation stages, they are walking into a troubled economy.
"It's not your textbook case recession that we always teach," said Risa Kumazawa, Chair if Economics and Finance at Duquesne University.
"For April, there was a 14.7 percent unemployment rate which is higher than we saw during the great recession.
With mounting jobless claims, reaching two-million in the State of Pennsylvania, career counselors tell KDKA, college grads are loosing job offers that were already on the table.
"According to a recent poll that was conducted but the National Association of Colleges and employers about 22 percent of companies have rescinded job offers," Jessica Hobson, Director of Career Readiness, Point Park University.
Hope isn't lost completely, however.
Hobson said jobs are out there and advises that for now, students should put a temporary pause on their dream job searches and start looking for survival jobs.
She said many of these jobs are listed on Pennsylvania's Department or Labor and Industry Job Portal.
"Opportunities such as in healthcare technology and healthcare as well as companies with a large e-commerce like Walmart, Amazon and Target.
Like everything else these days, the interview process is changing.
Kate Sheridan, Director of Chatham University's Career Development said as interviews switch to virtual, there is new etiquette to be learned.
"Most career offices do mock interviews so we can sit and do practice questions and offer feedback about something in your background that you can adjust or if you are fidgeting," said Sheridan.
Sheridan said students should check with their universities to see what funding is available through the CARES (Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act to help students get navigate any financial strain they may be encountering during these times.