Survey of Web Design Employment Opportunities in my Area

I searched Indeed, Courier and Press, Monster, Authenticjobs and Ivy Tech's own Jobzone... And the answer is "not much is available in my area." Even freelance opportunities in other areas seemed to be scarce. That doesn't surprise me considering the fact that our economy is probably doing better than in many other states. The only job that would even remotely interest me is for a Web Content Specialist position at Courier and Press itself. Everything else was the typical "WORK FROM HOME AND MAKE $$$" listings you tend to find in every classified section.

From Graphic Design job listings I've seen in the past, I know that pretty much any creative job these days requires you to have some web design experience... Which is why I enrolled in this class. I can't help but wonder about the general conditions around this phenomenon, however. How many companies have completely dedicated web design professionals? I imagine many of them either contract out that kind of work or make some poor sap with another job description attend to it. With the Internet environment as it is today, so many companies still seem to put their sites in the hands of third parties or nonprofessionals.