College Hiring in a Downward Spiral
The National Association of Colleges and Employers periodically surveys its employer members, most of which are large organizations, about their plans to hire college students for internships and recent graduates for entry-level jobs. A year ago, those employers planned to increase their hiring by 16 percent. That number later dropped to about five percent and is now at just 1.6 percent.
"Overall, hiring looks flat for now and some employers are indicating some movement to cut back," says Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director. "In August, approximately one-third of employers said they were going to trim their college hiring; in our current poll, however, 52 percent said they were going to adjust their college hiring downward."
The bright spot? The government continues to hire as fast as it can, in large part because of the disproportionately large number of Baby Boomer employees that it employees. Reports indicate that about 25 percent of government workers plan to retire within the next five years and almost 70 percent within the next 10 years. If those projections hold true, then the government will either be woefully understaffed or have to replace those retirees with younger workers. There simply aren't enough Gen X'ers to fill the empty seats so the government is doing what any employer would in its position: it is hiring as many Gen Y'ers as possible and hoping to retain them when the Baby Boomers retire.
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