For UI seniors hoping to graduate in December, the job outlook appears bleak.

Iowa’s unemployment rate remained steady at 6.7 percent in September, up from 4.2 at the same time last year, numbers released by Iowa Workforce Development Wednesday show.

Approximately 1,500 students are applying for a degree this December, according to the UI Office of the Registrar.

Employees in the UI’s Pomerantz Career Center said they are working hard to prepare students for the grim job market.

The university saw slightly more than 1,500 on-campus job interviews between August and mid-October, said Angi McKie, the center’s director of marketing and public relations. Though the job market was much better in 2008, that number is similar to last year’s rate of on-campus interviews.

With such a downtrodden economy, some students are looking to alternative opportunities after graduation.

Jon Wakeland is set to receive a degree in marketing this December. While he said he tries not to stress about the future, the tough job market pushed him to consider teaching English in Costa Rica through the Teaching English as a Foreign Language Institute.

“I want to get the abroad experience before I go settling into a career,” he said. “But the economy is a pretty big reason why I’m looking into teaching.”

Wakeland is also worried about the lack of jobs available in his degree.

“If the economy were better, and there were more marketing jobs, I might pursue something in the United States,” he said.

With U.S. unemployment increasing to 9.8 percent last month, he said he might have the right idea.

An Iowa Workforce Development report indicates the national recession should end later this year, but notes recovery will be gradual and “painstaking.” The report also states the job market for 2010 will remain weak.

“We’ve had eight months of job losses, and people tend to be staying out of work longer, with little job prospects in sight,” said Kerry Koonce, Iowa Workforce Development’s communications director.

But McKie said there are plenty of resources to help students’ chances of landing a job, noting the options to meet with career advisers, attend expos and career fairs, go on employer visit trips, and schedule mock interviews.

“We’re emphasizing students be persistent, utilize every opportunity and resource available, and start interviewing and applying for positions right away,” McKie said.

But even finding that covenant first position can be difficult, said UI student Zach Rodenburg, who plans to graduate in chemical engineering this December.

“A lot of my friends are having trouble finding things,” he said. “But I just try to stay optimistic and confident.”