Employment Increases, Leaving Students with Better Opportunities

Job growth is finally beginning to get better, although it seems to have taken forever for progress to be made. Since the recession which took place in 2007, many jobs were lost, leaving millions of people around the nation unemployed and seeking work. In the meantime, it has been hard for many people who have been seeking employment in hopes of finding a way to support them financially. It has also been hard for recent college graduates to find employment because jobs were so scarce. However, the job growth around the nation is picking up and in Utah Count, the rate of job growth is picking up faster than many of the other areas in the United States.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that Utah County is actually up by four percent when it came down to job growth from the months of June 2010 through June 2011. Utah County is actually number three in the nation for the highest growth job, slightly behind Ottawa County in Michigan and Montgomery County in Texas.

The president of Utah Valley’s Chamber of Commerce, Steve Densley, has said that the number of projects around the United States is definitely contributing to the increase in employment. Densley says, “A lot of neat things are happening.” He concludes by saying, “Look around from one end of the valley to the other.”

Many of the different projects that are taking place around the country include the I-15 project, which has been valued at about $1.8 billion and is currently stretching past 26 miles. There is also a National Security Agency project going on, along with the Adobe Complex. All of these projects are contributing to the employment rate in Utah County.

In fact, these projects can definitely be beneficial for recent graduates as well as current students. Many of these projects will continuously create even more employment opportunities in a number of different sectors. Such sectors include retail, hotels, food service, and a number of other services, especially because of the increased amount of traffic near the particular project site areas.

A former BYU student, Danny Carlson, has said that many companies are looking at Utah County because it is an area known for having a good reputation, especially when it comes to friendliness. Carlson says, “It’s like family, it’s unified.” He also says, “There’s a sense of community, especially catalyzed by the Mormon community.”

In the meantime, Steve Densley has said that while there are a lot of good vibes going around in the county, there are a number of students who are readily available for work and employment. Densley says, “We have approximately 90,000 college-age students. That workforce means a lot to other companies.”