Those who graduated two to four years ago are already paying the penalties for the weak hiring environment that began with the economic collapse in 2007. Barely more than half of them hold full-time jobs, and even fewer have jobs in their fields.
Moreover, they are likely to be compromised for years to come, including being overtaken in the job market by the Class of 2011.
Among the newly hired from that class is Joseph Fraim Kressler of Villanova University. The accounting major starts working for PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P. in Center City in September. All but three of his 136 fellow accounting-major classmates have had offers.
"As much as I love golfing all summer, I'm ready to take the next step and actually start making some money," said Kressler, of Bloomsburg, Pa., who will move to an apartment in Manayunk.
"Life is better for this year's class, but it's not universally better," said Ed Koc, NACE's research director.
Nearly every sector is looking to hire recent graduates, with hiring up 97.1 percent for engineers, NACE reports, though with a limited number of engineering firms responding.
Manufacturing hiring is up by double digits in categories such as food, pharmaceuticals, and computers. Construction businesses are looking for college graduates, as are utilities and oil- and gas-extraction companies.
"It's improved if you are looking at a career-oriented major, especially if it is in computer sciences," Koc said.
But prospects remain less thrilling for liberal arts and education majors, who tend to rely on public-sector jobs. Governments are hiring 25 percent fewer graduates than they did a year ago.
"For education majors, it's the worst I've ever seen," Koc said. "Only 19 percent even got offers.
