As a result, companies are cutting back, either eliminating jobs or slashing hiring plans. That's bad news for graduates.
"Young adults, in some ways, are the most financially disadvantaged folks in this country if you think about graduating from college with an average of 20-thousand dollars in student loans. A third of college students are graduating with 5-thousand dollars in credit card debt and they are entering a job market that has a big question mark over it," said Farnoosh Torabi, author of "You're So Money."
A new poll published in the National Association of Colleges and Employers found companies plan to hire one and a third percent more grads in 2009 than in 2008. That's not a decrease, but it's still a big drop from the group's August projection of 6 percent.
The number of students graduating is also on the rise, and that means more competition in the job hunt.
One sector is still taking applications -- the U.S. government. The NACE survey found the government expects to increase its hiring expectations by nearly 20 percent.
Graduates also have something else on their side -- time.
"In this economy even where everybody is struggling, young adults are at an advantage. They are going to be ok because they have that whole lifeline until they retire," Torabi said.
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