Recently, an Associated Press analysis said that half of recent college graduates were unemployed or underemployed. But there's good news for the class of 2012- these college graduates have a better job market.
According to the Lakeland Ledger, the outlook of finding a job has improved since the beginning of the recession in 2008.
College graduates began to network since their first year in college and found internships that lead them to permanent jobs. Many of the job fairs held on college campuses were buzzing with students and companies ready to hire them.
The newspaper says that even though the job market isn't back to pre-recession levels, 2012 graduates are less likely to be underemployed- taking up jobs where they don't fully use their skills.
One graduate Laura Mascari, from the University of Delaware, is leaving college with a job under her belt.
"I was nervous that my college degree would go to waste," says Laura Mascari, who arrived on the University of Delaware's Newark campus in the fall of 2008. Mascari, who received two job offers, will work in marketing — her major — for chemicals giant DuPont.
The newspaper says the improving job market is making a difference for seniors who are still looking for a job in their final semester.
The unemployment rate for college graduates 24 and younger averaged 7.2 percent from January through April. That rate, which is not adjusted for seasonal factors, is down from the first four months of 2011 (9.1 percent), 2010 (8.1 percent) and 2009 (7.8 percent). For all Americans, the unemployment rate is 8.1 percent.
