Says the New York Times:

When North Carolina seniors receive their diplomas here on Sunday, only about 15 percent of them will have jobs awaiting them, half the percentage that did a few springs ago, according to a university estimate. Another 25 percent will enroll in graduate school, leaving about 6 in 10 seniors without a long-term plan come Monday morning.

Why? Well, I think we all know why.

Corporations, after cutting their hiring of new graduates by 36 percent between 2001 and 2002, are hiring about the same number of graduates as they did last year, according to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

“We definitely picked the wrong time to be graduating from college,” said Morgan Bushey, 21, who will make about $200 a week teaching English in France, after having been rejected by seven law schools. “We just have to hold on with our fingertips for a few years until we can do what we really want to do.”

Sigh. Meanwhile, college tuition goes ever higher. Brandeis next year is getting right near $40,000. Wow…