Finding a job after college is hard enough without the added stress of a potential economic downturn, but studies show that graduating into a recession amounts to years of lost income. Many college students today worry that a recession will hit before they graduate, making it more difficult to find a good job in their field.
A new survey of 1,500 undergraduates finds that almost 6 in 10 (58%) worry at least somewhat about a recession impacting their job prospects after graduation, while 31% are not very worried and 10% are not at all worried. Three-quarters (75%) of students say it’s likely that a recession will hit the U.S. in the next two years.
Students with opposing political ideologies view the economy as a whole in very different lights. College Democrats are far more likely than college Republicans to expect a recession (84% vs. 49%) and to worry about a recession impacting their job prospects (67% vs. 34%).
8 in 10 Democrats Expect an Economic Recession
How likely is it that a recession will hit the United States in the next two years?
At the same time, Republicans are almost five times as likely as Democrats to say economic conditions in the country are getting better (49% vs. 10%), while Democrats are about three times as likely as Republicans to say conditions are getting worse (46% vs. 14%). More than one-third (36%) of students overall say economic conditions in the U.S. are getting worse, while 22% say conditions are getting better and 42% say they are staying the same.
The state of the economy at graduation will impact more than students’ job prospects. Almost one-third (32%) of students say it’s not likely they will be able to afford to live outside of their family’s home after graduation, compared to about two-thirds (67%) who say it is likely.
One-Third of Students Say It’s Unlikely They Can Afford to Live on Their Own After Graduation
How likely is it that you will be able to afford to live outside of your family’s home after graduation?
But despite fears of a looming recession, a majority of students (78%) are confident they will find a job related to their major after graduation, compared to 21% who are not. Just 9% say they would change their major if they knew for sure that a recession was coming.
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Methodology: This survey was designed and conducted by College Pulse. Interviews were conducted among a sample of 1,500 full-time and part-time students attending four-year colleges or universities in the U.S. who are part of College Pulse’s American College Student Panel.
