Hiring for college graduates across the country is projected to increase about 4 percent next year for all degree levels, according to a report released today by MSU’s Collegiate Employment Research Institute, or CERI.
The report surveyed more than 3,300 employers across the country.
CERI Director Phil Gardner said he attributes the 4 percent jump in overall college graduate hiring to a rise in employer confidence — as companies feel there is less uncertainty in the job market.
“They need to move ahead,” he said. “They just have open places, and they’ve got retirements coming up.”
Job opportunities for graduates who leave school with a bachelor’s degree are expected to jump by 7 percent nationally, which translates to an average of 26 new employee hires per company, according to the report.
Large company hires — for organizations with 4,000-plus workers — are projected to increase by 6 percent from last year, and hiring for doctoral degree graduates is expected to increase 12 percent.
The sudden jump in doctoral degree hiring is because of the relatively small demand for those employees in 2010, Gardner said.
Accounting senior Dominique Benjamin said although she doesn’t expect Michigan’s hiring to match the national average, the state is due for a jump in employment rates.
“I do think there’s going to be an increase, just because Michigan is one of the more struggling economies,” she said.
The report also notes 42 percent of employers said they plan to hire new employees this coming year, the highest response since 2007 when 47 percent of employers said they were planning on hiring.
As the job market for college graduates sees projected improvements, data released this week from Georgetown University shows graduates with advanced degrees earned $11,000 more than their bachelor’s degree counterparts in 2010.
For doctoral degree-holders, the difference between wages earned with a bachelor’s degree versus a doctoral degree widened to $16,000.
The differences in yearly salary also were pronounced between those with a high school diploma and those with a college degree.
On average, graduates who enter the job market with only a high school diploma made about $33,000 less per year than a worker with a bachelor’s degree.
An increasing difference in earnings has plagued the Americans for some time, economics professor Charles Ballard said in an email.
“One of the biggest stories in the U.S. economy in the last 35 years has been the widening of the gap in earnings between those with a college degree and those with only a high school diploma,” he said.
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