I am currently a freshman at UW Oshkosh, and finding a job on campus has been difficult. As a student who comes from a low-income household, working is a necessity.
I am not alone, as the National Center for Education Statistics reports that in 2018, 43% of undergraduates were employed.
After months of looking for an on-campus position, I came to a consensus. The economic recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic is to blame for a lack of on-campus jobs.
In economic terms, unemployment involves people who are actively searching for jobs but do not hold a job currently. In addition, economists point to a correlation between periods of recession and a high unemployment rate.
Due to COVID lockdowns, there has been less economic activity, causing an ongoing recession. Citizens have drastically changed their daily lives, spending less on activities deemed risky from a public health standpoint.
Moreover, this means that certain industries have not been able to perform normal services. Hotels, restaurants, and even taxi companies have needed to scale back the amount of workers on staff, and are reluctant to hire new employees.
Unfortunately, college and high school students have largely bared the brunt of these cuts, with the Congressional Research Service announcing that an astounding 36.6% of teenage girls and 28.6% of teenage boys were unemployed in April 2020.
Returning back to my dilemma in regards to on-campus jobs, it is clear to see that the recession caused by the COVID pandemic is to blame for higher unemployment rates, which causes students in particular to have a difficult time finding jobs.
Since so many students rely on funds from on-campus positions, it is necessary for the United States to focus on coordinating a unified response to the COVID pandemic. Without the coordination of multiple government entities, breakthroughs such as recent promising vaccine results from Pfizer and economic recovery would be less attainable and unemployment rates would remain high.