There has been plenty of anecdotal evidence indicating that the tightening labor market has led to an increase in demand for and therefore compensation being paid to recent college graduates. But anecdotal evidence can be misleading at best and fundamentally flawed at worst. But in June 2006, Compensation Resources, Inc. obtained compensation data and information on recruiting and hiring trends for recent and new college graduates. The data was collected was compiled from survey questions that were developed by CRI and distributed to companies in over 12 industrial classifications, representing publicly-traded, privately-held, and not-for-profit organizations. The following table provides a summary of compensation results:

Results indicated that in 2006, the average base salary is 10 percent higher than it was in 2005. Although annual bonus amounts are relatively the same, the number of companies that provided a bonus increased from 28 to 46 percent. Other survey highlights:

• Publicly-traded and privately-held companies consistently provided higher base salaries, annual bonus/incentives, and signing bonus/incentives as compared to not-for-profit organizations. Not much of a surprise there. That always seems to happen.
  
• The majority of responding companies indicated that turnover rates for recent college graduates was 15 percent or less. So much for Gen Y's reputation as job hoppers.
  
• Throughout 2005 and 2006, the most frequently stated functional areas in which companies expected to hire the most college graduates include the following: Accounting, Actuarial, Engineering, Information Technology, Marketing, Product Development, and Sales.