Students do interviews and meet potential employers for jobs and internships at the Fall Job Fair at California State University, Northridge
(Photo: Sisi Chen/ El Nuevo Sol)

“Within our dreams and aspirations we find our opportunities.”

                                                                                                   – Sugar Ray Leonard

By SISI CHEN

EL NUEVO SOL

“It’s not hard to find a low paying job, but it’s extremely difficult to find a job that will support me,” said Andrew Firta, 34, who had been looking for a job for two years after graduation. He is now a tutor of Intensive English Program at California State University, Northridge.

 The Economic Picture

“There is  no question that it’s tough to land a job in the USA regarding as today’s economy,” said Zhihai Chen, a sociologist from Handan, China, who wrote the book, “The View of Society and Economy,” (translated from Chinese). ” It’s obvious that the unemployment problem is still a hot topic. Although the Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent, it is obvious that the problem of unemployment has not been very well solved. For the Obama administration, the unemployment rate is still a fatal weakness.”

Source: U.S Bureau Of Labor Statistics
(Line Chart made by Sisi Chen/ El Nuevo Sol)

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 14 million unemployed in the USA in 2011. This breaks down into: under 5 weeks unemployed – 2.77 million; 5-14 weeks – 2.93 million; and 15 and over weeks – 8.3 million. It’s obvious that most of the unemployed can’t land work for over 15 weeks.

(Pie Chart made by Sisi Chen/ El Nuevo Sol)

The History of Unemployment Problem

“The United States has experienced several recessions from the last thirty years, and recently we went through a very deep session from 2007 to 2008,” said Robert Krol, Economics professor at CSUN. “Since the recession ended,we recovered but the recovery is very slow.” If we look up what happened recently, the unemployment rate went down to 7.9 percent,  but it’s still very high for the recovery of the United States.

Robert Krol, Professor of Economics at California State University, Northridge
(Photo by Sisi Chen/ El Nuevo Sol)

 Since 1948, the end of the postwar period, the federal government has tried several methods, such as tax cuts and stimulus spending, in order to turn around recessions and push back unemployment. From the historical view of U.S unemployment according to  TheWall Street Journal, there had been at least 10 recessions from 1948 to 2012.

Recession in 21st Century

During the first decade of the 21st century, the United Stated was pushed into a recession by the collapse of the Internet bubble and the  911 attacks. In an effort for economic revival, Bush’s government and Congress passed an economic act that, “Cut taxes and gave everyone who filed a tax return in 2000 a rebate check.”  But economic growth was actually a virtual halt because of the high energy prices and the overhang of the housing market.

“President Obama was elected right in the recession, so when he became president he met a very deep recession,” said Professor Krol. “President and congress made a decision to significantly increase expenditures, but the level spending has increased dramatically from 20 percent GPD to 25 percent, which means the recovered has been weak.” Many economists say that the agonizing recovery from the Great Recession, which began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009, is the predictable consequence of a housing burst and a grave financial crisis.

Source: The Wall Street Journal
(Table made by Sisi Chen/ El Nuevo Sol)

 In the world, there were 205 million people unemployed in 2011, according to Business USA. The highest unemployment rates are in Africa. For example, in Senegal, the unemployment rate is 48 percent, while the unemployment rate in North Korea is zero percent(not including political prisoners).

“I have a friend from Moscow who couldn’t find a job for six or eight months after graduation,” said Dmitry Rogachev, an international student from Russia. “According to current statistics, the unemployment in Russia is about 6.5 percent, but I think it should be much higher around 10 percent.”  Longfei Li, a graduate student majoring in music composition said, “It’s very hard to find a good job after graduation even though you are graduated in the best school in China… that’s why I came here for a master degree,” he added.

Job Hunting For Students

A job fair was held on October 24 at CSUN. Many students attended the job fair to have job interviews and find internships opportunities. ”It’s a great experience to go from face to face to talk with employees and companies,” said Edword Wvolevker, an international marketing major student who attended this job fair, and this is his third time attending the career fair.

Edword Wvolevker, marketing major, takes advantage of the job fair at CSUN held on October 24. (Photo by Sisi Chen/ El Nuevo Sol)

“The Fall Job Fair today is an opportunity for students to actually meet, interview and ask any questions to an employer. They provide full-time job, part-time job or internship,” said Eric Lara, an employee at the  Career Center at CSUN. “Many students who come here are not only senior students, but from all course levels.” For suggestions to students who want to find a job after graduation, Lara said it’s better to start job hunting as early as possible.

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