SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah is getting a federal grant to help put job-seekers back to work. The announcement comes while recent college graduates struggle to find employment.
Utah is getting an extra $1.2 million from the U.S. Dept. of Labor to retrain job-seekers.
According to an Associated Press report, half of college graduates were jobless or underemployed in 2011. The National Association of Colleges and Employers says 2012 offers a brighter outlook. But it may also depend on the degree. The top five fields now are engineering, business, accounting, computer science and economics.
It has been the worst job market for bachelor's degree holders in more than a decade. So the Dept. of Labor is giving 40 states, including Utah, an eighth round of federal grants for job-seekers on unemployment insurance.
"People who have been unemployed for a long time will be able to come in to our employment centers and have access to case management and all of the training services we provide and more intensive if they need it," says Curt Stewart with the Dept. of Workforce Services. "So we can get them back in the workforce quicker and also maybe change careers -- something more of an occupation in demand."
