Final answer:
Marina and her friends are experiencing signs of an expansionary phase or peak of the business cycle due to their receipt of numerous high-paying job offers. The economy is characterized by low unemployment and high demand for labor. Recent college graduates like them are considered to be frictionally unemployed.
Step-by-step explanation:
Marina and her friends receiving numerous job offers with starting salaries better than expected signifies that the economy is likely in an expansionary phase or perhaps at the peak of the business cycle. During such times, economic output rises above potential GDP, leading to a decrease in unemployment and a labor shortage. Employers compete for workers, bidding up wages, which is consistent with the situation Marina and her friends are experiencing. This period of vigorous economic activity typically occurs before the onset of a contraction phase, where economic activity slows down.
As for recent college graduates seeking employment, they are counted in the frictional unemployment category. Frictional unemployment occurs when individuals are temporarily unemployed while transitioning between jobs or into the workforce, as in the case of new graduates.