Jul 16, 2009 5:48 pm US/Central
SCSU Helps You Find A Job -- For Free
ST. CLOUD, Minn. (WCCO) ―
Last month Minnesota employers cut more than 16,000 jobs putting our unemployment rate at 8.4 percent. That is up from 8.1 percent in May, but still below the national average of 9.5 percent.
The biggest losses here in Minnesota come from construction and manufacturing. Transportation and utilities as well as financial services are the only two areas to actually add jobs.
"Minnesota, as a point of pride, is always better than everybody else in the nation. Our unemployment rate is lower than the national average, which of course is no consolation to those people who are unemployed, but it does show Minnesota's economy is stronger than everybody else," said Dr. David Vang of the University of St. Thomas.
While Minnesota's unemployment numbers are discouraging, one university is doing what it can to help turn things around.
Last year, 11,000 people walked through St. Cloud State's Career Services Center and many of them had never taken a class at the university. With state unemployment rates at a 26-year high, SCSU is allowing anyone without a job to use their books, databases and computers for free. And they are developing a dislocated worker task force to get the word out.
One of the biggest hits so far has been a "Ed post" link on SCSU's Career Service's Web site. It lists hundreds of education jobs and gets more than 250,000 hits a month.
But officials said it is not just unemployed teachers who are looking for information and inspiration.
"It's been a little bit of everything and it's been a number of very intelligent, capable people who have had great jobs," said director Addie Habstritt Turkowski.
Joel Nathe falls into that group. He went back to school to get his Master's degree in college counseling and is here now looking for a job. He thinks this gives him an advantage.
"The competition is very stiff in terms of if you're even going to get an interview or not so this allows me to search for jobs in one location," said Nathe.
People who are not students or alumni can use the resources, but do not get free career counseling that those affiliated with the SCSU get. Things like printing costs are also not free.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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