Grads In Demand | Marketing, engineering, computer science majors have edge
New college graduates this spring can count on a welcoming job market as employers seek to replace a baby boom generation reaching retirement age.
Employers are planning to hire 16 percent more 2008 college graduates than they did a year ago, according to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, a Bethlehem, Pa.-based group that tracks the market for new graduates.
The strong market for graduates stands in contrast with the weakness in the labor market generally. The government reported Friday that U.S. employers cut 63,000 jobs in February, the second-straight month of job losses.
Nearly 54 percent of employers said they will use signing bonuses to sweeten the deal for potential hires, according to the NACE, up from 47 percent in 2007. In particularly high demand: majors in marketing, engineering and computer science.
By recruiting college graduates, employers are dealing with the long-term drain from retirements of their oldest workers. The number of workers in the age 55-plus group is expected to grow by 49 percent in the 10-year period ending in 2012.
Employers are raising starting salaries and other financial incentives to land new graduates, according to the NACE and several employers. The overall average starting salary is 4 percent greater than in winter 2007.
Chemical engineering graduates will see the biggest increase, with their average starting offer rising 6.2 percent to $63,749. Liberal arts graduates, as a group, started the year on a high note with a 9 percent increase, bringing their average starting salary offer to $33,258.
Companies such as financial firm Deloitte & Touche are offering signing bonuses. “The downturn is making [some employers] cautious, but we’re not putting the brakes on,” said Deloitte & Touche’s Diane Borhani.
Many new graduates will begin with internships that turn into full-time employment.
Aflac, a Columbus, Ga.-based insurance provider, has a department whose sole focus is hiring and placing interns in the right jobs. They’re offered a permanent position upon completion.
“It’s a great job market, and [students] know it. We are in a war for talent,” said executive Audrey Boone Tillman.
Although in high demand, most college students expect to stay with their first employers for less than three years, according to a survey by Right Management, a Philadelphia-based consulting firm.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
0 Comments