CEDAR FALLS - As disconcerting as a recession may be for workers hoping to cling to their livelihoods, the angst sometimes is even more palpable among college students looking for spots in the work force.

For students in Christopher Martin's advanced business reporting course at the University of Northern Iowa, the worry seems to run a little more deeply.

It's a major part of their job in the course, after all, to follow events in the business sector with some depth, Martin said.

"It's kind of the only business journalism class we have, so we cover just about everything," Martin said. "They learn how to read SEC (Securities & Exchange Commission) documents. They look at mergers. One of our projects is looking at mergers five years later. We're also looking at executive pay and compensation, as well as labor and working-class issues."

It's an upper-level course, and students are heading toward careers in business-related fields - as marketing agents, in the public-relations field and even business reporting - Martin said.

"We'll be looking at some specific places where business intersects with the environment, the green economy and health-care as a business issue," Martin said.

Students, who gathered Tuesday to offer comments on current economic crises, reflected the angst of somebody looking to take a swim in a hostile current.

"The news coverage about the economy sometimes makes me anxious," said Sally Calcara, 22, a general communications major and journalism minor from Marion. "Every time I turn on the television, I seem to be hearing about more layoffs. The whole thing seems kind of enigmatic. We grow up hearing such fond things about our economic system in history classes, and this downturn has helped us realize the pitfalls of the free market."

Cory Houser, 22, an electronic media and journalism minor from Blue Grass, voiced pessimism but not despair.

"I believe that the economy is really in shambles, but it is very fixable; we just need time," Houser said. "I think that the changing of the guard, as it were, will help some, but President Obama will have to do a lot of work, and hopefully he won't quit smoking, so he can stay stress-free during all of this."

Houser, who is on track to graduate this semester, said he was not discouraged, as he gets set to hit the job market in the spring.

"I'm really not that worried about finding a job," he said. "I have a very steady part-time job at Hy-Vee and I get a very hefty amount of hours there, but if I'm going to be looking for a place to settle down - at least for a year or two - I need a full-time job that has the better pay and the hours guarantee that the Hy-Vee job does not have. However, there's always a never-ending need for news and entertainment in our country, so I'm fairly confident I can find a job working for television somewhere, preferably local."

Ben Wells, 22, an electronic media major from Storm Lake, said the government needs to set the pace by being more prudent in its spending habits.

He cited sky-high costs of the inauguration of President Barack Obama as an example.

"Is it really necessary and prudent to be throwing money around like that in our current times?" Wells said. "People everywhere are being affected. Older people are being laid off because younger workers are cheaper to hire, yet many college grads are finding it difficult to find a place to get a career started."

Wells said government "bailouts" of companies are a bad idea.

"These are public companies, and if they don't survive, than they don't survive," he said. "Where is my government bailout? And where is the government coming up with the money for these bailouts? And most importantly, why are we not holding these companies accountable for what they have received? If taxpayer money is going to fund some CEO's billion-dollar retirement bonus, something is seriously wrong."

Jessica Breuer, 22, a senior public relations major and business communication minor from Waterloo, said the economic fallout has touched her directly.

"Just this weekend the hours at my part-time job were cut down drastically, to almost non-existent, outside of 'in case of emergency' instances," Breuer said. "This, on top of graduating in the spring, has me stressed about finding positions in a job market that is making cutbacks."

Breuer said she has gotten a head start on job hunting and has found few opportunities.

"It seems as if no one is hiring," she said. "For so long, I have been full-time student, part-time employee. Trying to start a new chapter with the economy as it is now seems worse than any final I have had to take in college so far."

Kris Langner, 21, a senior public relations major and journalism minor from Waterloo, concurred.

"I feel that the current economy may hinder my opportunities in the job market," Langner said.

"With many businesses downsizing or going out of business, it is not a very good time to be graduating."

Students feel powerless, said Kelly Lantz, 20, a junior electronic media communication major and journalism minor from Lytton.

"I will be graduating next year and I hope by then our country is on the road to recovering and employment rates are up, " Lantz said. "It makes me a little mad that I had little influence on the current economy, yet I have to face to consequences of other people's action."

Fellow electronic media major Nikki Davidson, 21, of Des Moines, said she had lost one part-time job to cutbacks but has alternatives.

"I am lucky in the fact that I am still currently employed at two other places so the dent in my wallet is much weaker then it could be," Davidson said. "I have often stopped to think how bad it is for those who are full-time, single job workers struggling to support a family in these types of conditions."

Contact Jim Offner at (319) 291-1598 or jim.offner@wcfcourier.com.