When nearly 190 Southwestern Community College students walked across the stage to accept their diplomas May 8, they were also walking into what some say is the best job market for college grads in a decade.
A November 2014 study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers projects that employers plan to hire 8.3 percent more college graduates from the class of 2015 than they did from the class of 2014. According to the report, it’s a continuation of a trend that’s been on the rise since 2010.
In addition, Iowa’s unemployment rate dropped to 4 percent in March, which is 1.4 percent points lower than the national unemployment rate and Iowa’s lowest percentage since May 2008. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment in Union County was at 4.8 percent in March. Adair (3.9 percent), Ringgold (3.7), Adams (3.4) and Taylor (3.4) counties all have unemployment rates below the state average.
This means the economy is good. Especially for those looking local.
Just ask 2015 SWCC industrial maintenance graduate Raymond Fowler, who accepted a full-time job Thursday as a maintenance technician at Cardinal Glass Industries in Greenfield.
“It’s nice to complete the course and have the knowledge and have a job right afterward,” he said. “That takes out all the job searching.”
Fowler graduated from Creston High School in 2002 and went back to SWCC while between jobs to increase his skills. Last summer, Industrial Maintenance Technology Instructor Henry Lemke helped him line up an internship with Cardinal, which then turned into a part-time job during his final two semesters of school. He’ll start his new position after Memorial Day.
According to SWCC’s most recent placement report, 88 percent of its 2014 graduates found employment in their field within six months of graduation. It was the highest percentage SWCC has seen in more than 10 years. Ninety-two percent of the grads were employed in Iowa, SWCC’s highest percentage since 2010.
Barb DeVore, director of IowaWORKS Region 14, said that while it is a good market for new grads, it’s really a good market all around.
“There is a great need across the state for workers,” DeVore said. “The phone literally rings every day with somebody (an employer) in need.”
DeVore said the Iowa Jobs database currently has more than 46,000 posting and that each posting can represent multiple openings. Within the region, she said there are approximately 430 postings for a wide variety of job disciplines.
“Some of the hot jobs in our area are nursing, accounting, agricultural positions, trades ... as well as manufacturing,” she said.
DeVore said she often works with SWCC graduates to help place them with employers. But she said anyone who is looking for a job, graduate or otherwise, can make use of IowaWORKS’ free job search resourses and services.
“We would like everyone who’s looking for a job to find one, and we’d encourage everyone who’s looking for a job to come find us,” she said.
IowaWORKS is located at 215 N. Elm St.