Dive Brief:
- Job prospects for the class of 2015 were brighter than for their recent predecessors, and on-campus recruiting seems to be holding strong, indicating good news for schools fighting to convince prospective students of higher education's future return on investment.
- The New York Times reports Michigan State University’s Collegiate Employment Research Institute expects hiring to be up 15% on average, though a Federal Reserve Bank of New York analysis shows the lowest unemployment numbers among civil engineers and nurses, with 8% of anthropology, geography, and mass media majors unemployed.
- Slightly more recent graduates are in jobs that don’t require college degrees than has historically been true, but underemployment is down among this group and median wages are up, promising trends that are reflected on campuses holding career fairs and other recruitment events.
Dive Insight:
The value of a college degree is what gets students through the door. They are told they will be more marketable in the hiring process and make more money. When the economy dives and the immediate outlook for graduates is poor, colleges have a harder time pitching their products to people looking for an immediate return on investment. For-profit colleges have been especially hard-hit by critics saying they overcharge students for technical skills that will not help them in the job market. Many people locked out of the job market during the depths of the recession went back to school to retrain, however, causing an increase in the number of students at community colleges, especially. As the economy has recovered, community college enrollment has decreased.