The Little Chill

Job forecast for 1993 college
graduates is dreary.

THE DETROI T JEWISH NEWS

KIMBERLY LIFTON STAFF WRITER

16

isa Barson, a
1991 telecom-
munications
graduate of
Kent State
University, is
grateful she
has a job as
traffic coordi-
nator at W.B.
Doner adver-
tising agency in
Southfield.
The Cleveland native
searched for 20 months
all over the country for
for an entry-level posi-
tion in television, adver-
tising, radio or public
relations.
"I was ecstatic when I
was hired," said Ms.
Barson, who moved to
Farmington Hills to
work for Doner in
August. "I was the last of
all my friends to get a
job."
Jobs were hard to find
for Ms. Barson's class,
and the market looks
even more bleak for the
class of 1993.
"People are scared,
and graduate schools are

-

hard to get into because
they are becoming so
competitive," said 1993
Michigan State
University graduate Lori
Gana'', who is waiting to
be accepted to a gradu-
ate program in speech
pathology. "If I don't get
a spot, I don't know what
I will do."
Employment coun-
selors and economists
are advising young job
seekers to be patient.
Graduates, they say,
must be creative and
innovative in their
search for employment
because the good jobs are
available — just more
difficult to find.
"I empathize with this
year's graduates," Ms.
Barson said. "I wouldn't
want anyone to have to
go through what I did."
According to job coun-
selors, Ms. Barson did
everything right. She
wrote letters, and she
followed up with tele-
phone calls. She
arranged informational
meetings, and she kept

in touch with the people
she met.
"I networked," she
said. "Everyone said the
same thing. They said I'd
be great if they had a job
open."
Graduates likely will
hear more of the same
from employers as fall-
out from the recession
continues to linger. The
economy's manufactur-
ing sector has been stag-
gering and has been
weakened by ongoing
defense cuts.
In addition, foreign
demand for American
products has declined,
and consumer confidence
is not up to par. Last
week, Congress and
President Bill Clinton
moved one step closer to
approving a plan to boost

For the Class of
'93, there are
higher
expectations and
fewer jobs.

happen in the job market
depends on what policies
the federal government
adopts to get the econo-
my moving again," said
Malcolm Cohen, director
of the Institue of Labor

COMPILE Er 13 Y PC 1 IVI Et IE Ft L

hen he is not busy
creating award-win-
ning ads for his business,
Simons Michelson Zieve
in Troy, company
Chairman Morton Zieve
directs talent. On
Saturday, Mr. Zieve
brings to the Jewish
Ensemble Theater in
West Bloomfield a big
surprise.
After a 20-year acting
hiatus, Mary Lou Zieve,
the immediate past presi-
dent of JET (who is mar-
ried to Mr. Zieve), will be
playing a featured role in

W

and Industrial Relations
at the University of
Michigan. "People expect
too much.
"Despite the fact that
the economy is weak,
employment rates in
many fields are 96 per-
cent," Mr. Cohen said.
"We are not at zero hir-
ing. People should not be
terribly discouraged."
Domestic automotive
manufacturers in Detroit
are continuing to reduce
manufacturing costs,
while improving quality
and designing more vehi-
cles which are pleasing
to consumers.
Many believe these
improvements might
soon help domestic
automakers recapture
the market share gained

the economy. Labor and
placement experts sug-
gest an economic blue-
print by the federal gov-
ernment might improve
the employment picture
for this year's grads.
"A lot of what is going to

the comedy, Square Root
of III, written by Michael
Golder.
Mr. Zieve, also a musi-
cal composer, has direct-
ed plays at theaters in
San Francisco, New York
and Detroit. For JET, he
Crossing
directed
Delancey. Square Root is
scheduled to run through
June 27.
Dorfman of
o el
Southfield-based
Thorn Apple Valley has
been mixing business and
philanthropy at Tiger
Stadium.

J

THE LITTLE CHILL page 28

lf

LIPTON

The president of one of
the area's largest meat
processors this year
began selling the compa-
ny's Official Beef Hot
Dogs and the Official
Bun-Sized Skinless
Smoked Sausage to Tiger
Stadium — replacing the
Ball Park frank, once a
staple at the stadium.
Mr. Dorfman also has
launched a program
geared at bringing less
fortunate folks to the
baseball park. Thorn
Apple Valley has donated

KUDOS page 29