The Tough Road Ahead for Graduating College Seniors
By Manuel Casasnovas
If you are a graduating senior from college (like myself), you are probably disappointed with how your last semester turned out. Across the nation, many students have had their graduation ceremonies postponed, and many yearly traditions were cancelled. For seniors, those events represented the end of a chapter in their lives. Unfortunately, the bad news does not stop there. College graduates are now graduating into the worst job market since the 2008 Financial Crisis. The Economic Policy Institute is estimating that 3 million jobs could be claimed in the United States by the coronavirus pandemic this summer. Searching for a job has been increasingly difficult, with many job fairs cancelled, positions withdrawn, and most companies moving their resources to focus on dealing with the economic impact this pandemic may have on them. Last week alone, nearly 6.6 million people in the United States filed for unemployment, making the total count more than 16 million since the beginning of March.
This problem is not unique to college seniors, as clearly these are very trying times for everyone across the country. What is unique, however, is the low-levels of support graduating college students will have from the government. A $2 trillion bipartisan bill was passed in March, and it includes up to $1200 in assistance to every adult in the United States. This bill, however, will not be providing support to graduating seniors if they can be claimed as dependents on this year’s tax returns. This will disqualify the majority of college students, given that many of us rely (at least on some level) on our parents’ support through college. And if you are over 16 years old, your parents will also not get the $500 stimulus payment per child. While the bill itself was completed in a very quick manner in order to help Americans as soon as possible, this is one aspect that will have a very big impact on the life of a graduating college student. That support can make the difference between paying rent or moving back with your parents (as they also deal with the repercussions of the pandemic) and relying on their financial support while you search for a job. Further stimulus support should make sure to consider this section of the population.
With all this said, it is important that graduating seniors keep their hopes up. We are not alone, and there will be better days to come. If you are struggling, please never hesitate to reach out to those around you.