HUNTINGTON -- Gas and groceries are at record highs, more and more people are struggling to get by and the word "recession" is lingering like an unwelcome relative.
But that doesn't mean that it's all doom and gloom for Marshall seniors entering the workplace.
Graduation is coming on Saturday, and the opportunities thereafter will be out there, if they know how to look. And it appears they do.
"I think our students are taking an aggressive position when it comes to the job search," said Sue Wright, senior career counselor with Marshall's Career Services Center. "They're getting their resumes down early, they're networking, they're taking part in on-campus recruiting."
Huntington financial adviser and Young Professionals chairman Joe Randolph said that kind of tenacity is what students need to start out after college.
"There are certainly jobs out there if you go out and apply yourself," Randolph said. "I'm looking for financial advisers all the time. But I'm not after them, they have to come to me. That's the mentality. I think aptitude has a lot to do with it."
As for the actual availability of jobs, Wright said she was "cautiously optimistic" about what awaits the class of 2008. It all depends on the field someone is in, and where they are looking. Some, she said, will have to leave West Virginia to find what they're looking for. But that doesn't mean there aren't any jobs here, she said.
"Because West Virginia doesn't have a robust economy to begin with, we're typically not hit as hard with national downturns the way other locations are.
"Our students are still finding jobs, depending on their field," she said. "It's a wonderful year for our students in nursing, accounting, information technology and business management."
The university's spring job fair was full of employers looking for workers, she added, indicating that the jobs are there.
"I was impressed with the variety of jobs available," she said. "And they were looking for people who were market ready."
Randolph said in the local business climate, things are looking up as well.
"With everything that's going on at Cabell Huntington (Hospital) and St. Mary's (Medical Center), with what's going on at Marshall, things are getting better," he said.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs overall are expected to increase by more than 10 percent in the coming years through 2016.
The field expected to see highest increase in employment is registered nursing, according to the bureau, followed by retail salespersons and customer service representatives.
Education and health services are expected to grow by 18.8 percent through the next eight years, adding 5.5 million jobs to the workforce, more than any other subsector of employment.
According to the bureau, three out of every 10 jobs filled through 2016 will be in health care and social assistance or public and private education.
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