Since we emerged from the labor slump of mid-2001 through mid-2003, the number of employers who hire college students for internships and recent graduates for entry level jobs and other career opportunities has grown tremendously and so have the average number of hires per employer. This year's graduating class, the Class of 2007, is optimistic and has every right to be so. Entry level employers are expected to increase their hiring by 7.3 percent this year over last year.

Below is a list of the top / biggest 50 employers of college students and recent graduates. An astounding 60 percent of the full list of 543 are planning to hire more students and recent college graduates in 2007 than last year while another 20 percent expect to hire the same number this year as last year. Only 20 percent expect to hire fewer students and recent graduates, and I suspect that a good portion of those would hire more if they could find enough highly qualified candidates. The competition is getting tighter and tighter for the students and recent graduates who are the best fits.

So which employer sits atop the rankings? For the fifth year in a row, that employer is CollegeRecruiter.com client Enterprise Rent-A-Car. They expect to hire 8,000 students and recent graduates this year, which is up 14 percent from last year. "Our experience in hiring for Enterprise's Management Training program has revealed the importance of showing candidates a true picture of our overall company and their potential career with us," said Marie Artim, Assistant Vice President of Recruiting at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. "While the basics like pay, hours and benefits are still important and must be addressed, a candidate's decisions are often made based on the bigger picture--so we take care to highlight the values of our company, opportunity for advancement and more."

But as much as you respect the success demonstrated by Enterprise and many of these other organization, you're not reading this article for the quotes. You're reading this article to see the list. Is your organization included? If it isn't, post a comment and tell us about your expected number of hires and what works well and doesn't work well for your organization in its efforts to hire the best college students for internships and recent graduates for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.