KXXV-TV News Channel 25 - Central Texas News and Weather for Waco, Temple, Killeen | Finding a job easier said than done

Finding a job easier said than done

by Jennifer K. Garcia

WACO - With the downturn in the economy, finding a job is easier said than done, but many Waco officials say keeping students in the area after college graduation is difficult.

With Waco being surrounded by bigger cities like Dallas and Austin, employers, colleges and city leaders are working together to ensure qualified graduates stay in McLennan County.

Allan Marshall, Waco Director of Community Development, said there are more than 27,000 college students here in Waco. And he said Waco officials have one mission, to keep all graduates here in McLennan County.

"It's important for college students to realize that in Waco you can become some body significant, and somebody special. You don't have to go off to Dallas and Austin," Marshall said.

So to keep that from happening, Baylor, along with Texas State Technical College and McLennan Community College joined together with the Waco Chamber of Commerce to put on the second annual "Waco We Do" job fair.

Baylor senior, Clint Justice, is looking to stay in Waco at least for the next few years, "I love the Waco community and I don't have a problem staying around for a couple years here. I think there's a lot of opportunity to make money here in Waco."

But some job seekers are just seeking a job for the time being. Marly Huckabee said she's willing to stay in Waco only if the price is right.

"I would choose to stay in Waco if there were extremely better offers, such as health care benefits, security, better income, salary. I just don't see myself flourishing here."

Employers say otherwise though, having a job right now is better than not having one at all.

"The economy is really bad, so you're going to need a job where you're guaranteed the money. We brought out about 200 applications and we want all of them filled," said Richard Hurd with Vector Marketing.

Waco is not the only city looking to keep their college grads, Killeen and surrounding areas want to keep their students in Bell County and don't want them to migrate elsewhere, including Waco.

"Outward migration of talent should be a concern with any city, it's a concern for ours. And if they decide to leave the community for employment, they're taking our community resources," said John Crutchfield, President and CEO of the Greater Killeen Chamber.

Crutchfield said attracting talent is very important in any city, but keeping that talent is a task they're still working on in Killeen.

Recent Waco reports show the unemployment rate is slightly up this month than previous months, but the rate at which new jobs are being created are higher than usual.