Hui has served under U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao since April 2004, overseeing Chao's nationwide employment efforts by helping to organize events, plan internships and coordinate programs that assist and train Americans looking for jobs. Hui encouraged students to look at the current job market with a positive attitude.
"Surveys show that employers are hiring more workers and paying them higher salaries than last year," she said. "It's a very dynamic job market, and it really shows how resilient our economy is."
Hui dismissed fears about the current state of the economy, stating that the recent crises in the housing and credit markets are temporary.
"A lot of you are probably worried about the current hiccup in the economy right now, but it is a rough patch we are working on with the administration," she said to the students in the audience. "Entering the workforce may seem scary, but our economy is still very good, very strong."
The country's unemployment rate is not alarming, Hui said, especially when compared to unemployment in Europe. The unemployment rate rose .7 of a percent last year but is still lower on average than the entire decade of the '90s, according to Hui, and the U.S. rate is lower than the overall unemployment rate in Europe -- France and Germany have three times greater rates of unemployment, Hui said.
Hui emphasized the growing importance of life sciences, engineering and health care over the next decade. As the baby boom generation goes into retirement, she said, the health care profession will need more than three million new workers. At the Department of Labor, she said she has observed worrisome trends -- the fields that are growing the fastest are also the fields with the least incoming labor.
"I think that being a scientist or an engineer is just not cool, especially as portrayed by the media," she said. "Less and less people want to pursue these degrees, which also happen to be in the industries with the highest growth and the highest pay."
Hui emphasized the flexibility of the current job market for college graduates and the increasing number of opportunities.
"The days when there was one manufacturing plant in a town and entire generations worked there are a thing of the past," she said. "Now we're focusing on training those workers and getting them back into the workforce. It all boils down to one idea -- the government doesn't create jobs. It creates an environment in which jobs can be created."
Noting that U.S. President George W. Bush has appointed more than 400 Asian Americans to positions in his administration -- more than any other U.S. president -- Hui encouraged the primarily Asian American audience to take advantage of opportunities offered to them specifically, such as leadership conferences and summits that can help develop their communication skills.
"In today's competitive labor force, you have to develop your public speaking skills, know how to sell yourself and learn how to formulate well-organized ideas, defend your position, and when necessary, you have to know how to respectfully disagree," she said.
The most rewarding aspect of her job is having access to Chao, Hui said.
"It sounds cheesy, but she has rock star status in the Asian American community," she said. "People always want to get close to her, they want to touch her, they want her to take seven photos with them " she is such a role model."
Hui also pointed out Chao's connection to Dartmouth, where Chao studied temporarily after receiving her B.A. from Mount Holyoke College. Chao was a member of one of the first group of women to study at the College, and Hui referred to her as a "semi-alum."
The lecture was one of several events planned for Asian Pacific American Heritage month, which is celebrated in May. Hui praised the College for hosting lectures to commemorate the month.
"I'm glad that Dartmouth is celebrating Asian Pacific American heritage month, because so many schools don't," she said in an interview with The Dartmouth. "It used to be only a day, then a week, and then George H. Bush signed it into being a month, and it's great to see college students embracing diversity and realizing how their different backgrounds can strengthen them."
The speech was sponsored by the Dartmouth Chinese Culture Society, the Council on Student Organizations and the Rockefeller Center.
"Our goal for this event was to increase awareness of Asian-Americans in professional fields, especially in government," Cindy Guo '10, the president of the Dartmouth Chinese Culture Society, said.
