Job Market On The Rebound In Time For New Students Graduating From College

With fall semesters at several big Oklahoma colleges and universities coming to a close, experts say this new group of graduates could experience better chances of finding a job.

2020 graduates were and still are facing an uphill battle, but the good news for them and 2021 grads is that experts say the job market is slowly making a recovery.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 33 percent of 2020 college grads were unemployed in October 2020.

According to a poll from the employment site, Monster, 45 percent of 2020 grads are still looking for a permanent job.

OSU Tulsa career services coordinator Jessica Hendrick says she is glad the job market has rebounded after a tough year but still remembers how hard it was when the pandemic started.

"There was just a lot of kind of feeling helpless and that you were giving advice, but you didn't really know if that advice was going to be helpful," Hendrick said.

There are signs of optimism for 2021 college graduates.

A study from the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that employers are expected to be 7.2 percent more 2021 grads than 2020 ones.

Kevin Coman is a senior at OSU Tulsa who has already secured a job before graduation.

He says if it wasn't for him utilizing all of his resources, he might have still been deep in the job hunt.

"I wasn't having much luck with online searches and Indeed and stuff," Coman said. "So, the job fairs, the career fairs, they were great in helping me."

Coman hopes new graduates can also find the help they need to secure their careers and futures.

"There's so many things within the community here in Tulsa that can help you prepare for a job interview," Coman said. "Prepare for jobs and help you find jobs."

The National Association of Colleges and Employers also says that employers plan to hire 26.6 percent more new graduates from the class of 2022 compared to 2021.