Job Market for Graduates Most Promising in Years

Nov 9

According to the latest annual report posted by Michigan State University’s Collegiate Employment Research Institute, fresh college graduates could see the brightest job market since 2008.

Following significant job opening reductions during the most active period of the Covid-19 pandemic, employers are now eager to fill jobs and move companies forward again, according to Phil Gardner who is the author of the Collegiate Employment Institute Annual Recruiting Trends survey. Gardner states, “Add to this the historically high quit rate, and many employers are eager to find new talent,”

The survey noted top employment growth in the fields of health services, agriculture, transportation, construction and in the education arena. Expectations for hiring graduates with a bachelor’s degree could rise 15% in 2021-2022. More good news is that 53% of starting salaries are expected to increase as well. However, hiring trends for graduates with a master’s degree or MBS are expected to remain approximately the same.

Important to note is the continued insecurity involved with global supply-chain issues, possibly causing shortages with staff and hints of inflation potential.

As with most job markets since the Covid-19 pandemic, flexibility is key for new employment opportunities with some hires working on-site and others accepting a hybrid-arrangement.

With lingering questions and problems in the general economy still associated with the pandemic, nearly 30% of the employers surveyed expect new hires to possibly have shorter tenures than those hired before March of 2020. However, those new hires have opportunities to become part of the job market and gain hands-on work knowledge from employment experiences that become a benefit in future job possibilities.x