The American economy seems to be stable, as long as the job market continues to expand.

The American economy expanded by 1.4% during the last quarter of 2015 according to figures provided by Bureau of Economic Analysis. In January 2016, US economy created 151,000 new jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 4.9%. By March, the released government data shows the economy added 215,000 jobs in one month.

President Barack Obama said in a speech touting the jobs report, that this is the first time that the unemployment rate has dipped below 5% in eight years. In the financial report, one really good development was wage growth. Average hourly income rose 7 cents to $25.43. This means a 2.5% annualized increase.

What this means for international students

This is a good news for international students looking for employment opportunities. The creation of new jobs in the market is good news for both American nationals and international job-seekers. Those who are looking for full-time jobs but are stuck in part-time ones will definitely benefit. Having a full-time job is crucial for those staying back in US on OPT.

The number of Indian students going to US for higher education saw an increase by 29.4% to 132,888 in the academic year of 2015. Such a big increase in the total student number accepted at US universities reflects the US government’s policy of taking on more skilled workers in the future. If you consider the fact that approx. 80% of all Indian students in the US have chosen courses in the fields of engineering, math, and computer science, it makes all the more sense for the govt. to create more job opportunities. As these courses fall under the category of STEM, the stay on OPT is longer for these courses.

The bottom line is that the American economy seems to be stable, as long as the job market continues to expand. Looking at the trends in 2016 that seems to be the case. Job availability after graduation shouldn’t be an issue for international students in the near future.

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