A new economics graph called the Bikini graph suggests job losses have decreased since President Barack Obama took office. But the graph’s amusing title provides no amusement for OU seniors struggling to find post-graduate jobs.

The Bikini graph compiles job losses by month throughout the George W. Bush and Obama administrations, from December 2007 to January 2010. The numbers show an increase in job losses during Bush’s term and a subsequent decrease during Obama’s term.

The resulting graph resembles the shape of a pair of bikini bottoms, hence the graph’s name. In addition to the graph, numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics said non-farm payroll employment (payroll jobs not on a farm) increased by 162,000 in March. Of the 162,000, the bureau reports 48,000 jobs were created for the census.

Benjamin Keen, assistant professor of economics, said the March numbers released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics still will be revised.

Keen said a private firm released numbers that run contrary to reports from the bureau that suggest the private sector lost jobs. Whatever the revised numbers indicate, Keen said, even if after taking the census number out, he thinks 162,000 is still a good number.

Keen said there is talk the layoffs for the census will occur by June.

Despite an increase in employment during March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the unemployment rate remained at 9.7 percent. Keen said this occurs because a number of people called “discouraged workers” have left the labor force because they’ve stopped looking for jobs. Once these discouraged workers get a sense that the job market is improving, they will start to re-enter the labor force and look for jobs.

“There’s no defying time when people will start looking for a job again,” Keen said. “It’s usually when they think things are getting better.”

Keen said when the discouraged workers re-enter the market it’s expected to keep the unemployment rate high. About 150,000 jobs need to be added each month just to keep up with population growth, Keen said.

“To even begin to make a dent in unemployment you’re going to have to have much stronger job growth,” Keen said.

One area where the bureau reported job losses for March was financial activities. Financial activities lost 21,000 jobs, with insurance carriers receiving the largest losses.

Cory Dowers, accounting graduate student and president of Beta Alpha Psi, an accounting honors fraternity, said the public accounting industry was hit hard by layoffs at the two- to five-year employee mark, but not so much in hiring.

“Even in a tough economy, the demand for accounting never really stops,” Dowers said. “Most accountant students that go into Beta Alpha Psi usually find jobs right away to be honest.”

Kelley Bennett, public relations senior, has not been able to find a job as easily. Bennett said her job search has been frustrating because of requirements for previous experience.

“I haven’t seen one job that doesn’t require previous experience, and internships don’t count. For grads that need somewhere to start, it won’t happen,” Bennett said. “It’s like a catch-22; we are supposed to have experience but can’t get a job to gain that experience.”

Stacy Kaplan, journalism senior, has had better luck with her job search. Last weekend, she visited New York City to interview with several companies about potential job offers. She said most of the companies offered internships, but she’s still waiting to hear back from a couple of possibilities.

“Either way, I am excited for what is to come because both options bring me to my favorite city, and I can’t wait for it to begin,” Kaplan said.

As for the month of April, Keen said he would not venture to guess what the numbers would look like.