Jobs may be on the rebound

While there have been subtle hints over the past several months that the recession has been coming to a close in the United States, last week’s November job  report proved to be particularly emphatic. The unemployment rate in the United States dropped for the first time since July 2009, from 10.2 percent to 10 percent, which represented the largest month-to-month decrease since September 2006, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Prior to the report’s release, most economic experts had been forecasting job losses up to 200,000 for the month of November, Peter Ireland, professor of economics, said. when the job loss figure was revealed to be just 11,000, it provided a much-needed, albeit unexpected, morale boost for those who continue to seek employment.
“The report certainly did provide a pleasant surprise,” Ireland said. “Overall, that was the best employment report we’ve received since the recession started and offers up further confirmation that finally the economy is in the process of bottoming out and beginning to recover.”

According to a report by The New York Times, the the turning point – from jobs being cut to jobs being added – is expected to occur sometime around March 2010. However, Ireland cautioned onlookers to keep the report in perspective, with the current unemployment still double than levels from December 2007.

“Hopefully, this is the beginning of a recovery, but the point is that there is still a long way to go before we can say things are back to normal,” Ireland said.
Boston College students who are currently seeking employment opportunities for the spring and summer should expect mixed results, said Joanne Larosee, recruiting manager at the BC Career Center.

“The overall outlook is mixed,” Larosee said. “We’re definitely more optimistic than a year ago.”

However, Larosee said that the Career Center has seen a 22 percent drop from December 2008 in available position listings that potential employers submit to the center. She attributed the drop not to a loss in potential employers, but to the fact that each employer that is actively recruiting BC students has fewer openings to offer to those seeking employment.

“They are still coming, just with fewer opportunities, which means fewer interviews” for BC students, Larosee said.

The high-interest areas with regard to recruiting on campus currently include the finance, accounting, and consulting sectors. Larosee also said that there has been an increase in the amount of healthcare-related positions available.

Ireland said these trends support national statistics, which demonstrate that job gains were registered last month in the health care sector, as well as the business services sector, which includes law, accounting, information technology, and engineering. “That’s good news because those are areas where BC students will be looking for opportunities,” Ireland said.

Larosee said that she believes BC students will continue to be very competitive in the search for employment, and largely attributes students’ success to the well-rounded education received at BC. “In terms of qualities, they [students] really need to be open to the options out there,” Larosee said. “Employers are very impressed with our students.”
She credited the strong connections maintained between the University and well-positioned alumni with playing a major role in helping to sustain strong relationships between BC and potential employers.

“BC grads are still very competitive and overall we have a wonderful alumni group,” Larosee said.

From the perspective of BC administrators, the jobs report represents the sense of stability that has been felt around campus as of late. “Right now the trend is very positive,” said Bernie Pekala, director of student financial strategies. “From what we’re seeing, it is definitely stabilized.”

Pekala credited University administrators and the office of financial aid in particular, with ultimately providing students with the necessary funds and with maintaining BC’s long-standing policy of meeting the full demonstrated financial need of all undergraduates. He highlighted the recent consistency in the housing and stock markets as helping to ease BC parents’ fears regarding spending and the economy.
“The school did step up and they were able to help the students,” Pekala said. “The [University] president and vice presidents have definitely focused to make sure that students have the funds. Now that things are starting to turn around, people are feeling better about things.”

“Over the past year, BC has shown what it’s made of,” Pekala said. “Our retentions haven’t been higher.”