Higher Ed Utah

(Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times) — The job market for this year’s college graduates appears to be on the upswing as economic forecasts show seniors will have a better shot at employment than in past years and more businesses are recruiting at campus job fairs this spring.

Those positive signs were present at Cal State Long Beach recently when an event attracted more than 90 potential employers, about 50% more than last year. About 5,000 students, many of whom had swapped their T-shirts and sandals for a more formal look, handed out resumes and hoped to replace anxiety about their post-graduation employment prospects with the growing optimism that recent national reports project.

ShaunBernard, 23, a marketing and human resources major from Long Beach who wants a job as a recruiter, was sharply dressed in a black suit and tie as he chatted with representatives from Northwestern Mutual, Target, Enterprise car rental and others.

“It’s definitely a little bit scary out there,” he said, recalling how friends from prior graduating classes patched together part-time work or survive as coffee shop baristas. But he added that he’s hopeful he’ll find his “dream job.”

A recent survey by the National Assn. of Colleges and Employers found that businesses expect to hire 9.5% more college graduates this year than last, broadening a recovery since 2009 when such hiring plummeted 22%.

“Hiring projections by industry indicate positive movement nearly across the board,” the report said, with the strongest demand for business, engineering and computer science majors.

Similar good news was delivered by the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at Michigan State University, which expects hiring of new college graduates to rise 7%. More…