DETROIT (AP) -- Two-thirds of undergraduates interviewed at the University of Michigan, Michigan State and Wayne State universities said that they plan to leave the state after graduation or are unsure sure what they will do, according to a new poll.
The poll for WDIV-TV and the Detroit Free Press published Sunday found that 33 percent of the students said they plan to stay in Michigan. Twenty-three percent said they were unsure.
Eight percent said they planned to live in another country, while 7 percent each named Chicago and the West Coast as their intended destination.
Other destinations were the Northeast at 6 percent, the South excluding Florida at 5 percent, Florida at 4 percent, other Midwestern locations at 3 percent, and Texas and Rocky Mountain states, 2 percent each.
Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, Iowa, interviewed 640 undergraduates at the three schools April 9-16. The results have a margin of sampling error of about 4 percentage points.
"As much as I love Michigan, it really comes down to the job issue more than anything," said Justin Rumao, 22, of Wayne County's Canton Township, a mechanical engineering major at Michigan State.
Rumao interned for Toyota Motor Corp. in Erlanger, Ky. He said he hopes to work there when he graduates next year but said he eventually would like to return to Michigan for graduate school or work.
"What's great about living here is the fact that you can experience four seasons year round," Rumao said. "The people are always nice. There's always something to do."
Phil Gardner, director of the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at Michigan State, said negative talk about the state's employment situation by public officials and others has persuaded many students not to bother looking for a job in Michigan.
"We've talked them into this situation," he said.
Michael Casey, who is graduating from Michigan State, has a job waiting as a financial analyst with the Troy-based auto supplier ArvinMeritor Inc.
"I had other offers, which weren't as good of pay, out of the state" in Chicago and Tennessee, said Casey, 21, of Wayne County's Redford Township.