Down, Down, Down

"Stocks worldwide have taken a plunge."

That was the gist of what I heard when my radio alarm-clock jolted me out of my sleep at 7 a.m. What a way to start the day.

I was hoping that my ears had heard wrong after a nice three-day weekend of sleeping in late. Clearly I was just suffering from waking up so early.

Nope. The stocks did plunge worldwide. I made sure to confirm it this morning when I got to work and saw this Boston Globe article.

All eyes are on the U.S. as the world is waiting for us to slip into recession with them following right behind. Definitely not the most encouraging of news, especially after reading this article in yesterday's Washington Post discussing the influx of people in the U.S. who are skilled but jobless.

I can't help but be concerned as graduation is creeping closer and closer. With the unemployment rate jumping up to five percent last month--the highest it's been in two years--finding a job seems like it will be an uphill battle.

The Washington Post reports:

In November, nearly 1.4 million people -- almost one in five of those unemployed -- had been jobless for at least 27 weeks, the juncture when unemployment insurance benefits end for most recipients. That is about twice the level of long-term unemployment before the 2001 recession.

As my job search begins within the next couple of months, I know not only will I be competing with all of the other recent college grads, but also with those who are highly skilled and more experienced than me. I've watched my roommates (who are also in the journalism field) struggle after they've graduated so I'm preparing to grin and bear through it.

I guess the only thing I, like everyone else can do, is cross my fingers and hope for the best. What will be will be.