College Degree No Shield As More Jobs Are Slashed; In Far-Reaching Recession, Few Are Immune
When Nena Razmara was laid off in November from her $70,000-a-year job with a high-end residential building supplier, she thought she would be working again by Christmas.</br></br>Having worked in residential construction for 20 years, she was used to finding work by flipping through her Rolodex.</br></br>The 45-year-old Woodbridge resident made her three phone calls. Then three more. But she still had no leads. For the first time since she graduated from college in the 1980s, she scoured help-wanted ads. She sent out more than 150 resumes and posted one on Craigslist under the heading, "I desperately need a job."</br></br>In ordinary times, a college degree goes a long way toward securing employment, even during a recession. It also offers some measure of job security: Workers with at least a college diploma are less likely to lose their jobs in down times. But college grads such as Razmara are now finding that a postsecondary education isn't necessarily enough.</br></br>In fact, labor economists say the unemployment rate for workers with a bachelor's degree or higher is poised to hit a record high. This recession is so far-reaching, they contend, few are immune from the consequences.