As the national unemployment rate reached a four-year high this month, recent college graduates like Dana Hamer may find it more difficult to find a job.
Hamer, an MSU advertising graduate, said she is living in East Lansing unemployed, but looking for a job in her field.
“It is depressing that you went though four years of college and you can graduate with a 4.0 and still not find a job,” she said. “I feel like I’m going to work at McDonald’s with a four-year degree.”
The national unemployment rate rose to 5.7 percent in July, up from 5.5 percent in June, according to The Associated Press.
“It’s a bad signal because it is so high,” said John Beck, associate director of MSU’s School of Labor and Industrial Relations.
“On the other side, you’ve got a situation where some locales have higher unemployment, like Michigan does.”
With about 423,000 people unemployed in Michigan, the state’s June unemployment rate was 8.5 percent, the highest in the country, according to the Department of Labor & Economic Growth. The July unemployment rate for Michigan won’t be released until Aug. 13.
Jim Rhein, an economic analyst for the Department of Labor & Economic Growth, said graduates with higher degrees, such as master’s degrees, tend to find jobs quicker than those with bachelor’s degrees. The key is persistence, he said.
“The worst that generally occurs is that it takes a little longer (to find a job) when you have a degree,” he added. “If there is a sluggish economy it could take longer. Just stick with it.”
The type of degree a graduate receives also may affect whether they remain unemployed.
“There’s a high demand in anything that’s specialized,” he said. “What we’re seeing is a possible shortage in high skill manufacturing.”
While manufacturing and construction jobs are being cut, a demand for workers with high-tech degrees is developing in the Lansing area, he said.
The Associated Press reported that manufacturers cut 35,000 jobs in July, while construction companies cut 22,000 and retailers 17,000.
The difference is that graduates with business and engineering degrees can no longer depend on the state’s rich auto industry for a job, Beck said.
Shannon Kepler, who graduated from MSU with a psychology degree, said she is unemployed and looking for shop in the Lansing area.
“It’s hard to get that job that you want,” she said. “So I probably will have to go out of state.”
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