Northwest Arkansas' 5.4 Percent Unemployment Rate Good For Graduates

Graduation is around the corner, meaning thousands of students leaving high school and college will enter the labor force.

The area's low unemployment rate is good sign for these students, said Kathy Deck, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas.

By The Numbers (w/logo)

March Unemployment Rates

w Northwest Arkansas: 5.4 percent

w Little Rock: 6.3 percent

w Jonesboro: 6.6 percent

w Fort Smith: 6.9 percent

w Hot Springs: 7.1 percent

w Pine Bluff: 9.4 percent

w State: 7 percent

w Nation: 6.8 percent

Source: Bureau Of Labor Statistics

"For folks graduating here in Northwest Arkansas, a 5.4 percent unemployment rate is a very attractive market to get into," she said. "And we also have a growing workforce and that is good news."

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report Tuesday showing March unemployment rates dropped in 333 of 372 metropolitan statistical areas over March 2013.

Northwest Arkansas is part of the metropolitan statistical area that includes Washington, Benton and Madison counties in Arkansas and McDonald County, Mo.

The state's rate was 7 percent last month and the national rate was 6.8 percent.

The area's total non-farm work force grew to 217,400 last month, up from 213,600 a year earlier.

The Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce held a job fair Friday that catered to graduating seniors.

Chung Tan, director of economic development at the chamber, said the annual job fair was held in partnership with the Fayetteville School District. About 150 students attended and 51 employers and training providers manned booths.

She said the event had three goals: let the emerging work force learn about area employment opportunities, allow employers to hire workers and have training providers, such as colleges and technical schools, show what educational programs will help students land a job.

"Even many students going on to full-time schooling will need to find part-time work," Tan said. "This expo gave them a chance to practice soft skills."

Soft skills are personal qualities, habits and attitudes such as good communication and self-confidence.

"School teaches them the academic side, but a job interview gives them a trial run of practicing soft skills," she said. "It allows them to practice eye contact, dress properly and have a firm handshake."

Tan said many participating businesses were looking for students with the right personality.

"They said, 'We don't need a degree, but we need attitude. We can train you to do the job but we can't train you to have work ethic,' " she said.

The chamber also invited other Washington County schools to attend and Tan said she hopes to see the program continue to grow.

The majority of Fayetteville High School students came from the Agee-Lierly Life Preparation Services center, the school's alternative learning program formerly called West Campus.

Andrew Milburn, a math instructor at the center, said about 40 of the center's 120 student students will graduate May 16; most will enter the work force.

"The job fair showed them some of the things they will have to contend with out in the world," he said. "We tell the students there were no guarantees about walking away from the fair with a job, but it is where the journey begins."

It's important to teach the graduates to think about what they want to do for a career and not just what their next job will be, he said.

Chris Confer, director of career development at John Brown University, said it's also important for college graduates to look at their career as a whole and not just one piece at a time. Commencement at John Brown University is May 10.

"How is the student looking at their opportunities?" he asked. "Is location their first priority? Is there an organization they desperately want to work for and are they willing to take any position with the company?"

Confer said there are more job opportunities available to graduates now than there were during the recession and the next several years of a slow recovery. The recession ran from December 2007 to June 2009.

"Everyone locked up and quit hiring. It was very frustrating," he said.

He pointed to the banking industry as an example. Teller positions were good entry-level jobs for students and recent graduates, but people with advanced degrees were filling during the recession. He said those positions just started opening up again as entry-level spots in the past year or two.

The economy is moving forward, making it an exciting time to be a graduate, he said

"It's a great time to know that your first step is not your last step," Confer said. "Most people will have eight to 10 jobs or careers in their lifetime."

NW News on 04/30/2014

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