Iowa’s unemployment rate is still several points below national jobless numbers, but a new crop of December college graduates is now flooding into the marketplace. Those new grads will be competing with many experienced workers for some of the same openings.
Career services advisor Laura Kestner says she’d expect many entry level jobs to go to the new grads. Kestner says, “That’s simply because it would be a step backwards for someone seasoned, where for a college graduate, they might bring more enthusiasm and spirit to the position and be more comfortable with the pay than someone who has a lot of different experience.”
She says there’s no need for new college grads to get discouraged about the tight job market as there are still good entry level jobs in cities across Iowa.
Kestner says, “College graduates are still very marketable and they bring new and cutting-edge skills to the market that people with seasoned experience may not bring.”
She says the younger folks tend to be tech savvy and more proficient with social networks like Twitter or Facebook, something many Iowa employers may need to inject new life into their businesses.
“They’re comfortable, they’re creative, it’s easier for them to use those new technologies and those are things that a lot of more experienced people don’t have and aren’t comfortable with,” Kestner says.
Iowa employers may see a sudden glut of applicants in early January as many people will wait until the new year before launching their job-finding efforts.
State labor officials say Iowa’s unemployment rate fell to 6.6% in November, while the national jobless rate was just under 10%.