Obviously, every election is important, but this election is especially important to college voters, as they are deciding who will control the economy during the next few years, which could have a substantial effect on the job market for graduates.

President Ronald Reagan famously asked America in the 1980 presidential debate against then-President Jimmy Carter: “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” Many Americans are asking themselves the same question before this November’s election, and many Americans could answer either yes or no. For students, unemployment rates when entering the job market are high, and the outlook for many careers is not positive. Students can voice their opinion through voting this November on which candidate they wish to see restore our economy.

After four years of trying to rebuild the American economy, Obama still resides over a job market with an 8.1 percent unemployment rate as of August. Any economic growth over the past four years has been stagnant, and many Americans are looking for a change from the man who once promised it to them.

But last week, new numbers from the Labor Department prove Obama now can call himself a job creator as there are officially more jobs in the U.S. economy today than there were when he took office. Yet when examining the numbers more closely, many of these jobs are people who are underemployed in the United States taking much lower-paying jobs than the ones they used to have or are trained to have.

Romney is presenting himself as the alternative to Obama’s slow economic growth, touting his business background and work in the private sector, self-proclaiming himself as a job creator. But as the campaign continues, Romney seems to alienate more and more voters, losing support in battleground states that could help him win the upcoming election. The latest Real Clear Politics poll average has Obama 10 points ahead of Romney in Michigan, 52-42, and four points ahead nationally, 49.1-45.1.

Tonight’s debate could be Romney’s last chance to remain a viable candidate in this election, especially since the debate topic is the economy, one of Romney’s more comfortable topics. The debates that follow will focus on foreign and domestic policy, of which Obama has the upper hand.

Regardless of which candidate a student prefers, or if they are undecided, it is important for students to follow the presidential election for the next month, and tonight’s debate is the best place to start. With each candidate presenting his own argument about who could better fix our economic woes, students should listen to both arguments and choose the candidate they believe will provide them with the healthiest job market upon graduation. Students need to exercise their constitutional right this November and make an informed decision about which candidate they believe will be a better leader for the next four years.