Job market proving challenging for college seniors

The coronavirus isn't just putting people out of jobs, it's also stopping college seniors from getting them.

Many seniors expected to have jobs or internships by graduation, but that may not be the case. The virus has changed the timeline for the job search, pushing the process back. Some students say they have been waiting months to find out if they will be hired, bringing anxiety and frustration.

One senior at ECU, Ashley Wolff, said she's been waiting for months to hear back about her summer job. "They emailed me later saying we don't know if this job is still gonna be available," she said.

This comes as economists predicted in a Bloomberg survey that the unemployment rate will be the highest it's been since the 1940s.

ECU's Career Services Director Tom Halasz, has said he is concerned about students and recent graduates who are unemployed during this time. "We're still going to be going through a period of 1, 2, or 3 months, before we really know what the job market's gonna look like and what those employer needs are."

Halasz said there are still positions available and resources students can use to find them, like the online site Handshake.

He said there are other changes that have come with the virus as well, like employers using virtual interviews more often.