Although Srikant Ramarao would prefer to move to somewhere like Santa Barbara, Calif., after graduation, he has come to terms with the idea of potentially staying in Syracuse to find a job.

‘Syracuse may not be the ideal location to settle down in,’ said Ramarao, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. ‘I mean, obviously, it’s no Santa Barbara, but I’m used to it by now. Anyway, moving to a more appealing place just isn’t worth the financial hit.’

During the last year, moving rates for graduates have remained at a mere 2.1 percent, according to U.S Census data from an Associated Press article published Jan. 11. Moving rates are determined by how many students leave the area after graduation. Many students stay to live and work in the same area they attended college in because of the job market and the economic downfall, according to the report.

For Syracuse University’s Class of 2009, 52 percent of respondents who were employed full time were working in New York state, according to SU Career Services’ Class of 2009 Placement Report, the latest report available. Another 30 percent of these full-time workers had gained employment in one of the states neighboring New York, according to the report.

When it came to graduate school, 53 percent of 2009 SU graduates who responded to the survey were attending a school in New York state and another 15 percent in adjoining states, according to the report.

The average salary for the graduating Class of 2009 was $40,932, a decrease of $1,468 from the previous class’ average salary, according to the report.

‘It is truly a Great Depression for young adults,’ said Andrew Sum, an economics professor and director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston, in the AP article. ‘Young adults are working at lower rates than they ever worked before since World War II. As a result, you would expect migration to fall because they have nowhere to go to.’

But college graduates aren’t the only ones being affected.

For adults aged 25 to 29, about 3.2 percent moved to a new state last year, a drop from 3.7 percent in 2009, according to the article. Of the total U.S. population, 12.5 percent, or more than 38 million people, made the shift to a new state in 2010, according to the article.

In 2009, the moving rate for the U.S. population was also 12.5 percent, according to the article. The overall mobility rate was only lower in 2008, at 11.9 percent, according to the article.

Despite the low moving rate, not all SU students want to stay in the area once college has run its course.

Cory Sage, a junior television, radio and film major, is originally from Ohio and plans to return for a brief period of time after graduation before eventually moving to Los Angeles.

‘I’m definitely feeling a lot of apprehension,’ Sage said. ‘But I feel a great sense of excitement as well. There are so many options and opportunities available after graduation. Maybe I’ll try to get employed somewhere and start earning a living right out of the gates. Or maybe I’ll take a stab at graduate school and pursue a master’s degree. Who knows?’

eflanzon@syr.edu

Published on January 25, 2011 at 12:00 pm