Students in search of work are feeling the effects of an ailing economy as the number of jobs on- and off-campus is dwindling.
The national unemployment rate for workers 20 to 24 years old is 12.1 percent, which exceeds the overall rate of 7.2 percent - the highest in 24 years, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Many UF students have found the job hunt fruitless as campus departments and local businesses cut back staff to save money.
The biggest effect seen at UF is the sacrifice of many on-campus jobs to create more federal work-study jobs, according to Jonathan Orsini, student employment coordinator at UF.
Through the Federal Work Study Program, part-time jobs are partially funded by the government to give more job opportunities to students with financial needs, Orsini said. The government pays 75 percent of a student's wages while the university pays 25 percent, he said.
This leaves fewer jobs available for the average UF student because only about 1,200 UF students qualify for the program, he said.
In previous semesters, Jobs at UF, an online database displaying available on-campus positions, listed between 60 and 70 positions available for students, Orsini said. Now, there are 35 postings, with half being work-study positions.
"Unfortunately, there's just not as much opportunity," he said.
Orsini said he does not expect the job situation to improve any time soon.
UF department employees fall under a three-tier system, he said. Students fall at the bottom and are generally the first employees cut during a crunch time.
"I think it's going to get worse," he said. "Before full-time employees are cut, students will be cut."
Off-campus employers are not making students' search any easier.
Although Alachua County has always had one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state, the local economy has experienced a sharp downturn, said Angela Pate, executive director of FloridaWorks, the employment services agency for Alachua and Bradford counties.
Pate said the unemployment rate for the Gainesville area has nearly doubled in the past two years.
"A lot of people are suffering," she said. "People with master's degrees and Ph.D.s are coming in to get their unemployment (benefits)."
The unemployment rate may be an understatement because it only reflects those who are actively looking for jobs, according to David Denslow, a UF research economist.
Most student jobs are in industries that will be heavily affected in the next few months, such as retail and restaurants, he said. Denslow said he expects the number of students not working to rise this year and many employers to cut back on the hours their employees will be working.
At Dragonfly Sushi & Sake Company, students make up more than half of the restaurant's workforce, according to manager Dave Talpasz. Though business is slower than last year, Talpasz said he is only slightly worried.
"We take each day as it comes to us," he said.
The restaurant has been offering incentives such as free valet parking, drink specials on Tuesday nights and a lower-priced lunch menu to keep customers coming back, he said.
Jessica Neely, a UF freshman who has been actively looking for work, summed up her experience hunting for a job in Gainesville in one word: horrible.
Despite filling out "countless" applications, Neely is still searching for work. Many places have said they are accepting applications but are not actively hiring.
"I don't like watching my bank account go down and never go up," she said. "I'm looking for pretty much anything I can get."
