Class of 2007 College Hiring Up 19.2 Percent
The good news for the Class of 2007 continues to roll in: employers project hiring 19.2 more recent college graduates this year than they did last year. Not surprisingly, compensation for those hires is also increasing with nine out of 10 employers reporting that they're having to compete more for those hires than they did in previous years. Employers also are projecting that the competition will only get worse for them, and better for the graduates, in coming years.
While many employers are scratching their heads over what to do about these economic indicators, over half are planning to change at least some of their recruitment strategies this year. These changes include increasing the focus in their efforts to recruit Gen Y candidates. But employers are also changing tactics such as increasing their average starting salary offers. The result is an almost across the board increase in starting compensation for 2007 college seniors:
- Accounting graduates average offers increased an average of 2.3 percent to $46,718.
- Business administration / management saw their offers increase 3.9 percent to $43,701.
- Economics grads are receiving an average of $48,483 and finance grads are receiving $47,239. These disciplines were previously reported as one figure so the percentage increase is unavailable this year.
- Management information systems / business data process grads received 4.2 percent higher offers, translating into average offers of $47,648. Those working for consulting firms fared even better with an average offer of $50,139.
- Marketing graduates increased their compensation by 6.1 percent with average offers of $40,161.
- Computer science graduates posted a 4.1 percent increase in their average salary offers with offers averaging $53,396.
- Information systems and systems graduates saw a 4.6 percent increase with their average offers being $50,852.
- Chemical and civil engineering grads posted 5.4 percent increases, bringing their average offers to $59,361 and $48,509, respectively.
- Computer engineering grads did even better with 4.8 percent increase to $56,201.
- Mechanical engineering grads saw their average salary offers increase by 4.6 percent to $54,128.
- Electrical engineering grads saw their offers increase by 3.2 percent to $55,292.
- Liberal arts majors have little to cry over with their offers being up 3.5 percent to $32,348.
- Political science / government majors had the least to cry over as they saw the highest increases with average offers being up 5.9 percent over last year to $34,590.
- English majors increased their offers by 5.3 percent to $32,553.
- Psychology majors were up 4.7 percent to $31,631.
- Sociology majors were up 3.5 percent with average salaries now being $32,033.
- History majors are looking forward to 3.3 percent increases to $33,768.
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