Job outlook improves for seniors

Members of the Class of 2006 will face improved job prospects after exiting FitzRandolph Gate in June, a report released Friday suggests.

The annual study by Michigan State's Collegiate Employment Research Institute (CERI) predicts a six to 14 percent increase in employment for two- and four-year college students graduating in 2006.

The report, compiled from surveys filled out by just under 900 companies, predicts the greatest employment increase will occur in the finance, insurance, retail, food and lodging, health services and education job markets.

Governmental projections also anticipate an increase in hiring, said Nicole Snyder, Associate Director for Recruitment and Employer Relations.

"The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides employment projections through 2012," she said. "They expect significant increases in computer related and service-providing sectors as well."

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) recently released a report on its own national employer survey for 2005-2006, predicting a 14.5 percent increase in hiring. According to the NACE report, "more than nine out of ten employers polled in the national survey describe this job market as good, very good, or excellent."

The numbers represent a decline from last year's prediction of a 20 percent employment increase among new twoand four-year graduates.

"We haven't had great gains," Gardner said, adding that the job market for bachelor's graduates "has been gradually increasing slower than we expected, but I'm optimistic."

An increase in recruiting requires students to put more effort into their job search, since more organizations are competing for fewer students, Snyder said. Yet companies have often continued to maintain a campus presence even when not hiring, with the understanding that recruiting trends are cyclic, she added.

According to reports conducted by the Office of Career Services, the proportion of new Princeton graduates who planned to enter the job market increased each year from 1999 to 2001, when it peaked at 69.3 percent. The figure then dropped the following year and held steady until 2004, remaining below 64 percent each year. In 2005, it jumped to 68.7 percent.

Gardner said the bad economic situation at the beginning of the decade was responsible for the decrease in employment during those years.

"2001 through 2004 were bad years. The job market in general collapsed during those years," he said.

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Assistant Dean of the College Frank Ordiway said this collapse might explain trends in the Office of Career Services reports.

"We've always speculated the better the economy, the more similar students will go into the job market," Ordiway said.

CERI's survey also said that in today's economy, "while employers still want business and engineering graduates, companies seeking to fill consulting, research, information management, and e-commerce positions — all growing in opportunity — want to talk to all majors, particularly liberal arts graduates who know how to do research."

"It's interesting that employers are more interested in students of all majors," Ordiway said. The survey indicates that students "should not choose a major based solely on the job they will find afterward but on what they enjoy and are good at doing."

"[The University] has tried to convince students that they should not be restricted by their major when choosing a field," he added.