On the hunt
Barbara Agens stood in line among hundreds of MSU students Wednesday at the "Call to Serve" career fair at Kellogg Center, hoping to dazzle employers and land a job.
Agens, a zoology senior, is graduating in December in the midst of a state industry hiring freeze and a $920 million state budget shortfall, which has created a less-than-desirable job market.
She recently was laid off by the Ingham County Parks Department and cites lack of openings in her field and the weak economy as factors affecting her job search.
"I worked there a little over a year, and because of budget cuts, they had to let everyone go," Agens said. "I worked about 40 hours a week, and it has definitely been challenging finding another job. I know I'll probably have to relocate.
"I've done a lot of internships and volunteering, and I'm still looking for a job."
Agens is one of many seniors hoping to land jobs, despite a state unemployment rate of 7.4 percent, according to the state Department of Career Development.
Despite a growth rate of 7.2 percent in the third quarter, national unemployment was steady at 6.1 percent in September.
Economics professor Charles Ballard said the job market is not as good as it was three years ago when the recession gained momentum, but there are hopeful signs from the third quarter's strong growth rate.
"It's a fairly iffy time," Ballard said. "We've had three years of subpar economic performance, with a recession in 2001 and sluggish growth of the economy in most of 2002 and a good part of 2003."
Ballard said a growth rate similar to the one that occurred in the third quarter is extraordinary, but not likely to continue. For two out of three quarters, there were losses in employment.
But "good signs are good signs," he said, and if the economy is picking up, students will be able to find jobs over time.
"Some forecasts for the fourth quarter include growth at a manual rate of 4 percent, which would still be good," Ballard said. "That is the kind of growth rate that if we could sustain it for awhile, it will lead to an increase in employment.
"Faster growth would mean the search would take less long."
MSU's Career Services & Placement offers a variety of tools to counter a sluggish economy, job freezes and other road blocks that seniors close to graduation are encountering while trying to find jobs.
Career Services offers students career fairs and advising and guidance for job searches and internships.
"Our experience here shows that for folks who start early and have a plan, most are employed by graduation, if not shortly thereafter," said Executive Director Kelley Bishop. "You're a lot more effective if you made contacts within the organization. These are the people who are hired first.
"It's not who you know, it's who knows you."
Bishop said the hiring of recent college graduates took a dip years ago because of the economy, but hiring has improved since last year, with a 12 percent increase in interested employers.
"This year, employers seem more certain on what their needs will be," he said. "They have indicated that hiring will be wrapped up at the end of this semester and early next semester.
"This year, there has been a return to normalcy in the sense that those pushing to get employed are making progress."
State police Trooper Nate McClain said the state police hire a mixture of recent college graduates and people from the military.
"We've been given a range of anywhere from 130 to 170 for hiring," he said. "We're down about 300 enlisted members in all ranks, and the trooper ranks are down about 200."
McClain said such low numbers of enlisted members are the result of many people retiring and not enough people coming in - putting excess pressure on troopers currently working.
"We're budget driven and haven't run a school in three years," McClain said. "We've needed people all along, but if you don't have money, there's nothing you can do."
Allison Lucy can be reached at lucyalli@msu.edu.
