Lansing - With this week's announcement by Gov. Jennifer Granholm that more than 8,600 jobs will be for hire in Michigan, as the state's economy expands, some MSU students are becoming more optimistic about their employment prospects.
Those sentiments come as Michigan's unemployment rate has been decreasing - from 6.9 percent in April to 6.1 percent now - the lowest it's been since August 2002.
Among the additional jobs to Michigan's economy, more than 200 are coming to Mason's Michigan Packaging Company.
Packaging senior Anthony Jones said the recent announcement concerning an increase in job opportunities for Michigan residents gave him added hope for the future.
"Nothing is a guarantee, but it will definitely increase the possibility of students in the school to find employment after graduation," Jones said. "I find that a lot of friends that have graduated, who are trying to find jobs, have been to a lot of career fairs, have been to interviews - just haven't been called back."
Michigan Packaging Company, a corrugated-papersheet manufacturing business, originated in nearby Eaton Rapids in 1967 and doubled its building size in 1995. Its workforce will double within the next few years, creating and retaining more than 200 jobs.
According to Theda Rudd, assistant director of the MSU Office of Placement Services, packaging graduates have a definite edge.
"I'm absolutely optimistic," Rudd said. "MSU has a highly rated packaging school, so it's the first place new employees will be contacted."
Other graduates will benefit from the job increase, Rudd said.
"Whenever there is a surge of employment, it is good news for college students," Rudd said. "Most of these jobs are at the managerial or professional level and apply to the majors we have on campus."
The state of Michigan also will gain $90 million in private business investments.
"This demonstrates how we are competing with the best," Granholm said.
Nine companies moved to the state because of the relocation and financial assistance provided by the state government agency, Michigan Economic Development Corporation. The group tries to convince out-of-state businesses to relocate to Michigan.
Each company, that is involved in various areas of industry from automotive to research, chose Michigan over other potential candidates such as Florida, South Carolina and Nevada.
"The fact that we won these, that our incentives are effective, companies are seeing that Michigan is a great place to expand and do business," said Paul Krepps, spokesman for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
If the companies create or retain a certain number of employees at a certain weekly wage, in addition to other criteria, the corporation will give them a tax credit, and, Krepps said, these single business tax credits are what enticed the businesses to expand or locate in Michigan.
"Essentially, they get a break at the time they file taxes," he said. "They could save hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars over the life of the agreement."
Although the economic situation is looking up for many, Granholm said Michigan residents still need to keep pushing in the job market. The unemployment rate remains above the nation's average of 5.6 percent.
"People are still out of work, so we can't claim total victory," Granholm said. "But with this announcement, we're seeing positive signs that we're moving in the right direction."
