http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/knau/local-knau-956741.mp3
Phoenix, AZ – A report prepared by the Board of Regents finds about eight out
of every 10 students who get an undergraduate degree from one of
the state's three universities are able to find work within
Arizona. Dan Anderson, an economist for the regents, said they
appear to be landing what he called good, entry-level jobs. But
20 years later, the figure of graduates still working in Arizona
drops to fewer than half.
(The difficulty, and we've seen this in economic development as
we've talked about bringing in corporate operations and others,
is do we have the opportunities to retain those people as they
move up in their career ladder. And it appears that, for a lot of
different reasons, people, to move up in their career ladder,
have to move out of state, to other opportunities.)
Anderson said that's not good for the state or its taxpayers.
(We are investing, though, substantial amounts of money in those
individuals. And we want to get as much of that return as
possible. And to the extent we have a broader base of
opportunities we'll be able to retain more.)
But Anderson said we are living in a more mobile society. And he
conceded that, no matter what economic development happens here,
some graduates still will want to leave the state. For Arizona
Public Radio this is Howard Fischer.