The unemployment rate in Michigan has historically been higher than the U.S. rate, and has caused many of the state's college graduates to fear for their future or to look elsewhere for employment opportunities.

However, with an announcement by Gov. Jennifer Granholm regarding the advancement of Michigan's job market, students are becoming more optimistic.

We at The State News believe that hope is good. Hope is what fuels those inspired to succeed.

Going to school means investing in the future, and that investment should not have to be coupled with the anxiety and trepidation of severely limited prospects of advancement.

In order to flourish, students need the sort of inspiration that comes from knowing that there is a light at the end of the academic tunnel.

At the same time, this announcement is merely a step in the right direction, and is not yet a tangible triumph.

Michigan should be commended for doing its best to relocate businesses in order to produce additional positions for its previously floundering job market, but it is still too soon to blow the graduation money on a new keggerator.

Hopefully, the promise of more jobs for hire is not an empty one.

Additionally, this announcement does not propose that there isn't still a problem with the unemployment rate in Michigan, but it does instill a hope for its future.

College graduates should be reassured to know that things are looking up, and right now their state's job market will likely only get better.

Students can use their newly found hope for future employment in Michigan to motivate themselves to grow and flourish in individually chosen fields.

As of now, such enthusiastic employment prospects are like putting a Band-Aid on a severed limb, but it is still good to believe that future graduates do indeed have a future.