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Job opportunities, student loans on the rise for class of 2016

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Finding a job may be much easier for the college graduating class of 2016.

The Economic Policy Institute recently published a report that stated the unemployment rate for recent college graduates is 5.6 percent, the lowest since June 2008. Since the Great Recession college graduates have been having a hard time gaining employment.

While the situation seems to be improving for college graduates, more improvement is needed.

The reports says there is a lack of quality jobs for recent college graduates and one in eight college graduates in underemployed, meaning they have a job that does not require a college degree. This is a big burden for the graduates given the cost of college has been skyrocketing over the years.

Between 1984 and 2015, the cost of a four-year degree from a public university has increased by 125 percent. And the New York Federal Reserve reports a 92 percent increase in the number of student loans between 2004 and 2014.

The Economic Policy Institute also reports while the unemployment rate for men and women is the same, there’s a big difference when it comes to pay. It states young male college graduates earn about $21 an hour while young female college graduates earn $16.58.