Tough job market may be keeping some grads in Iowa

The struggling economy may have a silver lining for Iowa: Slowing the brain drain of Iowa's colleges and universities.

While the numbers for the 2008-09 school year haven't been fully compiled, career services offices at the three state universities see no evidence that the recession has worsened the state's perennial brain drain and mounting evidence that the leak is slowing.

“This certainly isn't driving graduates out of state,” said Mark Peterson, director of career services at the Iowa State University Business Graduate Program. “In fact, a few candidates who had already planned to move to other cities after graduation, perhaps because of a significant other, are having a very difficult time securing employment.”

UI senior Courtney Mosey knows about job hunting from her part-time student job as a peer adviser in the University of Iowa Career Center. Mosey, who graduates in December, was planning to focus her job search on her home turf of Chicago, but now is seeking work in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City or Des Moines as a career adviser or academic adviser.

Mosey said she's less inclined to be choosy about where she begins her post-college career because of the rocky economy.

“It's been rough,” said Mosey, 23. “I've gotten e-mail and voice mail back, saying, ‘Thank you for applying, but we've already chosen.' ”

University career advisers remember a time not long ago when some graduates in a promising field simply moved to the cities where they dreamed of living, confident they'd find a job when they arrived. Nowadays, they say, students who move away without a job usually do so only if they have a family or romantic connection at their destination.

Iowa State University economics professor Peter Orazem can see why a greater share of graduates would choose to stay in Iowa. Iowa gained jobs in finance, retail and government last year, even as those sectors shrunk in most states. Iowa's September unemployment rate tied for sixth-lowest in the nation at 6.7 percent.

“The fact of the matter is, Iowa is probably as good of a place as any to look for work,” Orazem said.

While Iowa's recent state employee layoffs haven't improved prospects for graduates, Orazem said the state is a relatively minor player in the employment picture, and the state government centers, such as Ames, Iowa City and Des Moines, have some of the best employment situations in Iowa overall.

A weak national economy also may keep more students in college. Students who can't find a good job upon graduation often decide to pursue graduate studies, delaying repayment of their student loans, Orazem said.

The notion of hiding out in college during an economic downturn may have a rational basis.

“Even the ones who find jobs in bust markets will end up being paid less than people hired in boom market,” Orazem said. “They'll end up in low trajectory positions.”

The percentage of grads who stay in Iowa varies from one institution to another. The University of Northern Iowa tends to keep more of its grads in Iowa than the other state universities, in part because more of its student population comes from Iowa.

About 84 percent of UNI graduates in the 2008-09 academic year remained in Iowa this year, compared with 77 percent the previous year, according to UNI statistics. Not all found jobs, though.

For some, the recession actually made an out-of-state offer more tempting. UNI senior Sarah Thompson, 23, of Cedar Rapids, said she's headed to a job at United Health Care in Minneapolis, where she interned last summer. She wasn't willing to wait to see if an Iowa job offer materialized.

“Graduating now is kind of scary,” Thompson said.

UNI finance senior Katie Halsne, 21, of Woodward, finished her degree in three and a half years virtually debt-free. She's expecting to head home after graduation, confident she'll find employment in the Des Moines area.

“No rent or laundry and home cooked-meals,” Halsne said. “Living at home is going to be great!”