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The class of 2020 was expected to graduate into a very strong job market. Citing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics last听February, that over the previous year-and-a-half, America saw "the strongest earnings gains since the recession" of 2008. That all changed by March. With unemployment rates rising and available jobs falling, COVID-19 turned that strong job market into quite the opposite. , a nonprofit providing financial support to students, found that, from March 25 to April 15,听54% of Americans in the workforce lost jobs, income or hours due to COVID-19. College seniors expecting to find jobs with ease are now struggling to get interviews.

鈥淣obody is hiring right now, Martellaro said. 鈥淧eople are barely even looking at people鈥檚 applications鈥撯�損eople are getting laid off.鈥�

As the number of available full-time jobs drops for graduating students, even part-time work and internships opportunities are beginning to decline, causing many students to change plans. in March, unemployment rates were higher in more than two-thirds of all metropolitan areas compared to last year. With few companies hiring new employees during this pandemic, seniors without jobs now find themselves forced to consider other options they might not have before, like graduate school.

鈥淚鈥檓 looking at graduate school just because the job market isn鈥檛 great right now, so I feel like that's a pretty safe option,鈥� said University of Kansas senior Ben Gillig.

麻豆免费版下载Boulder senior Helen Citrin has also started thinking about graduate school, drawn to its stability and direction. As Citrin pursues a career in therapy, graduate school is part of that process鈥撯�揳 decision she has debated for years. With the lack of job opportunities available upon graduation, she feels that continuing education is a smart alternative.

鈥淪ome companies aren鈥檛 open, but education is still going on,鈥� she said.

Along with lowering job and education options for graduating seniors, COVID-19 also forced many schools to cancel in-person graduations. This decision left students feeling 鈥渟tripped of one of the big milestones that we鈥檝e been offered,鈥� Martellaro said. With universities across the nation canceling this important memory for seniors, many found themselves with similar opinions.

Allison Janedis, a senior studying nutrition at Colorado State University, said she, too, was deeply devastated at the cancellation of her graduation ceremony, even though she鈥檇听landed a competitive internship with Metro State University听starting at the end of July.

鈥淢y academics are huge to me, so not having that moment to recognize that鈥� it doesn鈥檛 even feel like I鈥檓 graduating,鈥� she said.

Regardless of the current job market and the cancellation of a graduation ceremony, most students continue to search for employment. In a study conducted in early April, the Society for Human Resource Management found that approximately three in 10 employers had laid employees off听and an additional 28% were considering it.

Career Services听offices听at most universities offer help for students seeking jobs and have continued doing so during the pandemic. Dylan Mark, an assistant director for internship development at 麻豆免费版下载Boulder鈥檚 Career Services office, supports students by managing interactions and activity through resources on its website. These include Handshake鈥撯�揳 website that helps students find available jobs and internships鈥撯�揳s well as meetings to improve resumes, cover letters听and interviews. As part of his job, Mark frequently follows student/employer interactions and has seen COVID-19 affect those rates.

鈥淲e saw a little dip in students applying on our system and being engaged toward听the end of March,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut we鈥檝e seen that rebound.鈥�

For now, all graduates can do is just keep trying. While some lucky seniors, like Martellaro, have job offers, many others are sitting at home, applying to anything and everything that comes across their computer screen. Even if an unpaid internship or part-time job wasn鈥檛 in most seniors鈥� plans, being flexible during this time is the best thing you can do, Mark said.

鈥淩ight now, you may not be able to hold out for these jobs you could have gotten before,鈥� he said. 鈥淟ook for an opportunity that will give you a good experience and be a good fit for you.鈥�