The search for a job after graduation may not be affected by the cloudy economic forecast, experts say.
But, finding a job pertaining to a student's major will be.
This year, unemployment in the United States has risen from 4.9 to 6.1 percent, the largest spike since 2001.
Despite the state of the national economy, Indiana has steadily created new jobs since 2001, according to Ball State University's Bureau of Business Research.
Muncie unemployment is 6.6 percent, slightly higher than the national average, according the bureau. Household employment numbers fell one percent in the last year.
For college students, this means October's economic roller coaster may be coming to a close, Ball State economics professor Cecil Bohanon said.
Jobs are created when new or existing organizations realize hiring new people will benefit them, he said. That may start to happen, if students don't mind getting a job outside their degree, he said.
"Students need to remember that the U.S. economy continued to create jobs every month the last seven years but not growing as fast as labor market is expanding," Michael Hicks, director of the bureau said. "Ball State graduates faced with finding a job will depend on what occupation the student is going into. They may not be able to hold out for better jobs."
The 777-point Sept. 30 stock market crash was a result of the U.S. House of Representatives failing to pass the $700 billion bailout bill. In the economic uncertainty that followed, the worldwide markets lost a combined $2.8 trillion since Sept. 30, according to statistics from the Bank of England.
"When the United States get sick, the rest of the world at least gets the flu," Bohanon said. "Because the economies around the world aren't as strong as ours, they can be hit harder. What that can mean is that any jobs linked to that global market will get nixed too."
The presidential candidates' plans to fix the economy revolve around the tax issue. Both candidates have said their tax cuts will be a basic building block to get the American economy back on track.
According to his Web site, Barack Obama would cut taxes for 95 percent of workers. He would issue a $500 tax cut for single workers and a $1,000 tax cut for working couples.
Obama said he would cut taxes for lower- and middle-class seniors, homeowners, the uninsured and families trying to save or send a child to college.
The Illinois senator would cut corporate taxes for companies that create jobs in the U.S., and give tax credits that reduce health costs and reward investments in innovation.
Under the Obama plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see tax increases.
John McCain would keep tax rates low to promote entrepreneurship opportunities, according to his Web site. The Republican nominee would keep the top tax rate at 35 percent and maintain the 15 percent rates on dividends and capital gains. His plan would phase-out the Alternative Minimum Tax and cut The Corporate Tax Rate From 35 To 25 Percent.
"A new president coming into office depends on what policies are being enacted," Bohanon said. "It doesn't really matter who takes over, their going to have a mess. A bold legislative agenda could be very counter productive. If it has a large amount of spending, then it could just add to the deficit problem the federal government is already having."
Bohanon said that no one knows what the aftermath of the financial market is going to be. Regardless, there are going to be changes in the system, he said.
"It's pure speculation, all you can have is a guess," Bohanon said. "That's always the case with economics. I don't think we'll get off scot-free. There's always a one-percent chance we'll not go in a recession and a one-percent chance this could be a repeat of 1930's."
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