Although the recent talk of a national recession may have some University seniors worried about the job market, a University economics professor says job opportunities vary by region. Dek Terrell, University economics professor, said the job market in Louisiana is doing particularly well compared to the rest of the nation. He said the state’s low unemployment rate of 3.9 percent indicates graduates seeking in-state employment in the state should be able to find good jobs. “This is a great time to be looking for a job in Louisiana,” Terrell said. Terrell said it is difficult to predict how job growth will be affected overall because different careers have different availability. He also said each region is affected differently. “It’s going to vary a lot by field,” Terrell said. “Seniors would really have to explore their own degree and see how people are doing.” Because the job market varies so much by field, the best way to broadly predict job growth is by region, Terrell said. He said it would be tougher to find a job in large cities such as Los Angeles and New York. “If you’re trying to get jobs out of state, Texas isn’t struggling,” Terrell said. Terrell said there are not any current reports of the the job market getting smaller despite recent talks of a national recession. But he said a recession would most likely negatively affect the job market. Although the job market in Louisiana may still be viable, some seniors are worried about economic problems potentially reducing their chances of getting a job. Bradley Hebert, finance senior, said the job market in the business field is something to worry about. “The job market is pretty tight right now,” Hebert said. It is not uncommon for it to take a student more than four years to get an undergraduate degree. With all the time invested in a higher education, Hebert said it would be disappointing if he can not get a job. “I’m not sure how much value my degree will hold,” Hebert said. Although a recession can potentially impact the job market, some seniors think University graduates will not have much trouble getting jobs. Timothy Dunn, chemistry senior, lost a part-time job because his employer had to downsize his staff. But he said graduates will have an advantage because of their degree. “I’ll have a degree then, so it will be different,” Dunn said. Dunn said his primary concern was not with his chances of getting a job. Rather, he is worried that inflation will cause his salary to be worth less. “I’ll probably make less, but even if I made the same now, it would probably be worth less,” Dunn said. He said for there to be a recession, there must be two consecutive quarters of negative Gross Domestic Product growth, the total market value of goods and services produced in a country at a given time, and a 2 percent increase in unemployment. Although neither condition has occurred yet, the economy may be in its first quarter of negative growth right now, Terrell said. He said the average length of a recession is eight months.
—-Contact Ben Bourgeois at [email protected]