Posts Tagged ‘employment’
Essential Data on Colleges and Careers
Monday, May 7th, 2012Across the country, colleges and universities are re-thinking goals and aspirations in light of diminishing revenues and falling endowments. At the same time, prospective students and their families increasingly seek an economic value for their tuition investment. These realities conflict when it comes to providing exceptional career assistance to students and alumni. The following data support the assertion that colleges and universities need to focus not only on student learning outcomes, but also on ensuring the success of their graduates.
Employment Elusive for 2011 College Grads
Monday, July 18th, 2011The government’s June statistics contained an unpleasant surprise for the Class of 2011: a ten percent rise in the unemployment rate compared to June, 2010. Twelve percent of college graduates under the age of 25 had no work at all in June, 2011—not even a part-time or low-level job.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. After two years of unemployment rates above ten percent, there were signs of improved prospects for college seniors. The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) reported in March that 53% of employers planned to hire more college seniors from the Class of 2011 than the Class of 2010. And, colleges across the country attested to increased participation from employers in fall career fairs.
Improving Employment Market Leaves New College Grads Out in the Cold
Sunday, January 9th, 2011There are numerous indications that the overall job market is improving. According to Indeed.com, a company that tracks job postings nationwide, 2010 saw an 88% overall uptick in listings over 2009. Some fields fared better than others: after significant declines in recent years, information technology listings in 2010 were up by 82% over 2009, and listings in the media rose by a similar percentage. Over 700,000 positions were advertised in health care in 2010. This positive trend is likely to continue in 2011. Michigan State’s Recruiting Trends, 2010-11 reports that employers of bachelors’ degree grads predict 10% more hiring this year.
But the good news in some quarters is tempered by troubling unemployment statistics for new college graduates.
College Seniors: Don’t Go To Graduate School
Monday, April 5th, 2010The Class of 2010 must be cursing their collective bad luck. For most of their college career, they watched employers wooing their older classmates with promises of high salaries and signing bonuses. Then they sat back, dumbfounded, as the Class of 2009 confronted the worst hiring situation in decades. Now, they have to face the fact that the jobs recovery still remains elusively over the horizon.
Good News for College Grad Employment
Sunday, November 8th, 2009The latest government (BLS) unemployment statistics for October, 2009, were accompanied by a collective national groan. Across all populations, the average unemployment rate rose to a high of 10.2%–up four tenths of a percent from September, 2009, and 54% higher than a year ago. But unemployment woes have not affected every group equally. There is a whopping discrepancy between individuals with no high school diploma, and those with a college degree.
2009 College Graduates: Unemployed and Forgotten
Sunday, October 18th, 2009What has happened to the college graduates who received their diplomas last Spring? Since that time, the word on the street—or at least on Wall Street—is that we are no longer in recession. But the improving public mood has not translated yet into hiring. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the overall unemployment rate inched up to 9.8% in September, with no demographic group being spared.
On the surface, the 9.3% unemployment rate for college grads with a bachelor’s degree under the age of 25 seems quite positive. After all, the National Association of Colleges and Employers survey of 16,000 college seniors, conducted through April 30, 2009, concluded that only 19.7% had jobs lined up by graduation. Unfortunately, the Bureau of Labor Statistics data hide some more troubling information.
Philosophy Majors: Get a Job
Monday, May 18th, 2009If liberal arts grads want a business career, all the advanced education in the world won’t help. They need experience
Finding a Job in 2009: A Current Applicant Perspective
Friday, December 5th, 2008There are dire warnings about the employment market for 2009 grads, but what’s the real situation for current job applicants, and how can you make yourself more attractive to employers? Sheila Curran talks with Kesav Mohan, a 2009 graduate of Duke Law School, about law, consulting and entrepreneurship.