New College Graduate Hiring Up 10.2% from 2011

There is good news in the job market for the graduating class of 2012.  Employers are expected to hire more recent college graduates this year than in 2011.

Employers expect to hire 10.2 percent more new college graduates from the college Class of 2012 than they did from the Class of 2011, according to a new study conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

That’s up from the 9.5 percent hiring increase they projected for the Class of 2012 when polled in September.

“Although employers haven’t revised their earlier projections significantly, this upward movement along with other positive economic indicators show that the job market for new college graduates is improving steadily,” says Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director.

According to results of NACE’s Job Outlook 2012 Spring Update Survey, this is the second consecutive year in which employers have adjusted their hiring expectations upward. Results also show an increase in the average number of jobs posted by respondents, up 10.5 percent from 105 in 2011 to 116 currently.

More telling, however, is the comparison between current figures and those reported for the Class of 2010, when the job market for new college graduates was just beginning to recover: In 2010, employers reported an average of just 45 job postings.