Unemployment skyrockets as hiring rates tumble

Just days after USC’s Career Fair, the New York Times reported the number of job seekers is six times the number of openings – a record high.

And though that’s a scary prospect for seniors who will be kicked out of the haven of academia and into the real world far too soon, USC grads seem to have stayed above the unemployment fray – at least so far.

“We’ve hit a plateau,” said Eileen Kohan, executive director of the Career Planning and Placement Center. “Our class last year did much better at finding jobs than the national average and that took place right around the time companies were having their problems.”

How this year’s Career Fair played out and how this year’s class will fare has yet to be seen. Based on the trends reported by the NYT, though, it’d be a surprise if the trend doesn’t hit USC grads soon. Job openings, according to the article, have decreased 45 percent in the South and West – the most of any region in the U.S. – since the beginning of the recession in Dec. 2007.