Will local graduates successfully enter the Triangle workforce? Here's what students are saying

It's graduation season, and that means a whole new group of people entering the workforce for the first time.

Some sectors like education and health services – so those who are graduating to be teachers or nurses – should have an easier time getting jobs since there's a shortage in those fields.

Other industries like construction have a surplus, so some could see challenges finding that first role.

Students at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill are excited about graduating, but finding their first job has been easier for some than others.

Some seniors are celebrating graduation. Others are figuring out what's next.

Seniors Brennan Maynard and Lila Richardson are taking some time off after school to figure out what field is best for them.

"It's tough," says Maynard. "It's not very fun to be looking for jobs and things, especially when I do have a wide range of things that I'm looking at."

Richardson says, "I'm going abroad for a little bit. Then I'm going to come back and figure out who I am outside of school."

Liam Hanson majored in math and music, with a minor in statistics.

"I'm working at a small pharmaceutical consulting company in the Triangle for a year, and then I'm going to try to go to grad school for statistics or applied math or something in that category," says Hanson.

Some of the top majors at UNC this year were biology, business, psychology and media.

"This is a great time to be graduating from college. We have record low unemployment rates still, coming out of the pandemic," says Dr. Anne York, a Professor of Economics at Meredith College.

She says economic uncertainty hasn't hit the labor market yet.

"Right now in the Raleigh area, for the students who are graduating locally, I don't think they need to move. There should be plenty of jobs open for them in the Triangle area," she says.

In general, some good news for those getting diplomas this weekend: Those who are more educated are less likely to be unemployed.