With the current massive global credit crunch looking set to continue throughout 2009, and perhaps even further, people of all income levels are likely to feel the economic pinch more and more.
Throughout all the media coverage and analysis of the economic downturn we have all heard and seen just how bad this international recession is likely to be, but the one group of society that has been constantly overlooked are students.
Recession Impact on Students
Theoretically, students should be fairly cushioned from the heavy blow of this international credit crunch, mainly thanks to the fact that they do not have to pay council tax, large utilities bills and the like, but this is not necessarily the case.
Statistically, students have one of the biggest disposable incomes of all age groups, and thus they contribute to retail turnover on a very large scale. A good reason, you might think, why students will be least affected by the credit crunch. But there are many areas where students will suffer.
Food prices, for example, have continued to rise throughout this economic crisis, and that, coupled with the rising cost of gas and electricity means that students will have much higher living costs than ever before.
Students soon to graduate from university face an altogether more problematic issue than simply paying for their food and water. Finding employment in these superlatively turbulent economic times will perhaps be the most challenging task of all. With thousands upon thousands of jobs being slashed by companies in order to cut production costs, there are fewer and fewer opportunities for graduates to find employment. Certainly not a good thing if you have just graduated from university with an average debt of around £15,000.
Holding onto a part-time job may also be quite a challenge. With companies attempting to cut costs across the board, wages for young part-time employees are the easiest target. Indeed, cutting jobs in this area of the market in the most politically safe thing that a company can do, as often it is only students themselves who are likely to complain.
Drinking – a favourite activity of all students – is also going to become more costly. Extra production cost will inevitably be passed on to customers, and if this happens then the average cost of a night out will probably rise dramatically, and leave students with a lot less in their pockets by the end of the night.
It is true that students probably do have it easier in terms of protection from this recession than many other groups of society, but the fact that even they are likely to find the times ahead financially challenging only serves to highlight the severity and difficulty of the times that are to come.