FOR THE CLASS OF 2020, A JOB-EATING VIRUS RECALLS THE GREAT RECESSION

They hoped to secure jobs on political campaigns, at fashion brands

and law offices, and in sales and finance. Instead, they’ve had internships canceled and interviews postponed, wandered through empty job fairs and seen recruiters ignore their anxious emails.

When the coronavirus pandemic forced college students across the country to leave campus in early March, the abrupt departure was especially painful for seniors. It meant rushed goodbyes, canceled graduation ceremonies — an overwhelming sense of loss.

Now, many of those seniors are home with their families, contemplating an even worse prospect: a job market grimmer than any in recent history. Last week, according to the Labor Department, nearly 3.3 million people filed for unemployment benefits, more than quadruple the previous record.

As the economy barrels toward a recession, college seniors fear they could become the next class of 2009, which entered the workforce at the peak of the Great Recession as companies conducted mass layoffs and froze hiring.

“That is definitely on everyone’s minds,” said Tarek Ziad, a senior at Yale studying ecology and evolutionary biology. “We have to hike up our boots.”

A number of major companies, including Yelp and Disney, have suspended their internship programs, a common route to the first job for many graduating seniors. At some job fairs in early March, major companies simply didn’t show up; now all those career events have been canceled.

The number of new job listings posted between mid-February and mid-March dropped 29 percent compared with the same period last year, according to data from the job marketplace ZipRecruiter. Postings for retail stores fell 14 percent, events jobs went down 20 percent and casino and hotel jobs dropped 23 percent.

The hiring situation will probably get worse over the next few months, as closures and cancellations ripple across the economy. “These are still early effects. The first wave of industries hit will not be the last,” said Julia Pollak, a labor economist at ZipRecruiter. “There will be a large human cost.”

‘Looking into the void’

Andres Salerno, a senior at Butler University in Indianapolis, stayed in his off-campus house after classes went online, one of only a few remaining undergrads in what feels like a ghost town. Practically everyone he knows is anxious about the job market. Some of his roommates are Peace Corps recruits who don’t know whether they’ll be able to leave the country. His girlfriend is a dancer whose professional auditions have been canceled.

For his part, Mr. Salerno had hoped to get a job on a political campaign in his home state of Texas — an option that no longer seems viable as canvassing has ground to a halt. (NY Times)