Graduating seniors are likely to see a better jobs market this spring than seniors of the past few years, as employers plan to step up their hiring, according to a survey of employers by the Pennsylvania-based National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). Compensation is unlikely to increase, however, the survey found.
“This is very similar to coming out of the 2002-03 recession, at least four new college hires,” says Edwin Koc, director of research for the association. “It’s not rebounding the same way for others in the job market,” Koc says. “If you’re over 40, college-educated and unemployed, you’re having a hard time getting back in the market,” he says, noting the national unemployment rate among people in the 25-35 years old age range is about 3.5 percent, compared to more than 9 percent overall.
The association’s survey, to which some 300 employers responded, suggested a 13 percent increase this spring in the hiring of graduating seniors. Most employers intend to keep pay flat, with some exceptions, the survey found. It was conducted last fall and is to be updated in March.
Shifts also are emerging in recruiting strategies, the survey found.
More employers are pursuing “location concentration,” which is recruiting at schools that are closer to where their facilities are located. The strategy is paying off, the survey found, as employers reported finding “better success hiring regionally.” By the same token, employers are reporting it “more difficult” to get students to relocate to pursue opportunities far from where they live in this uncertain economy.
In fact, employers are increasingly targeting a certain group of schools and expanding those numbers to meet diversity hiring goals.
“They are willing to expand their outreach to meet their diversity requirements,” Koc says the survey indicated.
