Lower jobless rates have little impact on graduates

A recent story in the Jonesboro Sun reported that unemployment rates in Jonesboro have dropped drastically in recent months.

The article, "NEA jobless rate drops," by George Jared, ran in the Oct. 15 edition of the paper.

It cited local officials as saying the unemployment rate dropped from 7.5 percent in July to 6.6 percent in August.

The article attributed this drop in unemployment to the relative stability of local industry, the expansion of ASU and the low cost of starting and running businesses in the area.

All this may sound like good news for ASU students set to graduate soon and who are looking to work in the Jonesboro area, but economics professor Gary Latanich said the numbers can be deceiving.

"This is not the time to be graduating," he said. "You'll have to work harder, longer and extend yourself out," he said of recent college graduates looking for full-time employment.

Latanich said the factors that had kept Jonesboro's economy relatively stable during a national recession-such as local industry being concentrated in areas like food production and health care that are not prone to downturns-would not mean much to college graduates trying to get a full-time job in the area, "unless you're looking for a job at Frito-Lay."

"If you're looking for a full-time job, it's not any better than it was six months ago," he said.

Latanich said most companies were hiring more temporary employees because they didn't want to invest in new full-time hires during a recession.

"We'll probably see the job market do nothing until 12-18 months after the recession has ended," he said.

Dario Maxime, a senior business major from Port of Spain, Trinidad, was similarly pessimistic about the local job market.

"I'm an international student," he said. "That limits my chances of securing a job after graduation.

Maxime, who expects to graduate in August 2010, will legally have only one year after graduating to look for a job because of the restrictions on his student visa.

He said he wasn't optimistic about finding a job in human resources management in the area because "there are quite a few jobs closing around Jonesboro."

He said he plans to look for work in St. Louis or Chicago after graduating.

So what options do students who are graduating soon and want to begin working as quickly as possible have?

Latanich said moving out of the area may be their best option.

"The more mobile you are, the more likely you are to find a job," he said.