A newly released study on employment trends shows the job market continuing to expand for 2007 graduates.
The report, released by the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at Michigan State University, includes data compiled from 864 companies.
The data indicate a definite increase in hiring by employers, CERI Research Director Philip Gardner explained.
"We're expecting about five percent on top of last year's market," Gardner said. "It's a continued expansion but at a slower rate."
Gardner said he attributes the increase in hiring to a rise in retirement of people in managerial roles.
"The positive thing that's going on is that a number of primarily large companies are aggressively hiring people to fill training positions to replace middle and upper managers that are going to be retiring in the next five years," he said. "Some [companies] have 40 to 60 percent eligible to retire and they've got to find people to fill those positions."
According to Gardner, there is still high demand for more general liberal arts majors, but "professional majors" are currently desired.
"In preparation for retirement, [companies] are looking at business and engineering for these management training positions," he said.
Gardner noted, however, that there are some cuts in hiring in some industries related to the slowing economy.
"These [cuts] are primarily around housing related activities which would include housing for construction ... real estate and mortgage banking," he said. "They're not hiring as many as last year, but they're still hiring."
The retail sector will also be affected by the economy, but is expected to maintain a positive growth rate, Gardner said.
University Career Services has seen an increase in the number of employers conducting on-Grounds interviewing and participating in the Diversity Career Fair, UCS Executive Director James McBride said.
"We had 301 unique employer organizations participating in the on-Grounds interviewing program as compared to 278 at the same time period last year ... that's an eight percent increase," McBride said.
University students are sought in all three of the major hiring fields -- manufacturing, government, non-profit and service, McBride said.
"We have a nice across-the-board appeal when it comes to employers," he said. "There's a nice balance between [students'] academic work and their extracurricular and service activities ... and you add on other qualities like study abroad and academic research and you get this nice well-rounded student."
Though many students continue to be concerned as graduation nears, news of the report is promising, said Emily Archambeault, careers and transitions chair for the Fourth-Year Trustees.
"A lot of students get worried when they don't have jobs in January and all of the [Commerce] School kids do -- I feel that because I don't have a specific field that my major directs me in," Archambeault said. "It is good to hear that the job market is increasing."
Read More
Was Ryan ‘anti-Jeffersonian?’ Historians weigh in after his resignation
By Brendon Bordwine | 11 hours agoWhile the Jefferson Council argues that Ryan violated the University's founding mission, historians suggest that even Jefferson’s own views were far from consistent.
Student Council passes resolution to uphold student voices during presidential search
By Lauren Seeliger | YesterdayThe resolution requests that five students be included on the search committee, and that the Board of Visitors provides key updates to the student body throughout the search process.
Senior VP for Operations Colette Sheehy looks back at her career at the University
By Brandon Kile | 3 days agoSheehy’s role involved overseeing the work of around 2,500 University employees, including custodians, architects and engineers.
