The number of jobs available to graduating students is expected to fall by 22 percent in the upcoming year, according to a new survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. The survey found that the worst projected decreases were reported in the northeast and western parts of the country, with hiring in both regions declining by more than 30 percent. Twenty-two percent of employers contacted by the NACE said they planned to avoid all new hiring, while another 43 percent said they expect to reduce the number of students they will hire. The decrease follows five years of steady or increased hiring of graduating students, according to the NACE press release.
Students, faculty and union workers at Harvard University protested potential layoffs on Friday, The Harvard Crimson reported. The protests, which were attended by more than 150 people, included members of The Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers, the Service Employees International Union Local 615 and the Student Action Labor Movement, according to The Crimson. Harvard recently announced an early retirement plan in response to an expected 30-percent drop in the value of the university's endowment.
A proposed amendment to the 2009 Senate Appropriations Bill would remove college health services from government discounted drug programs, the Huffington Post reported Friday. The amendment, submitted on March 4 by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., would increase the cost of subsidized contraceptive prescriptions for college students nearly 10-fold, according to the Huffington Post. Without the amendment, the spending bill would reverse a measure in the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act that excluded college health services and some clinics and Planned Parenthood centers from reduced drug prices. DeMint's amendment is the most recent of a series of efforts made over the past month by lawmakers opposed to subsidized contraceptive access, the Post said.
