College Class of 2020: Employers plan to increase college hiring by nearly 6 percent
Employers anticipate hiring 5.8 percent more new college graduates from the Class of 2020 than they did from the Class of 2019 for positions in the United States, according to results of a recent survey released on November 21 as conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).
Although this year’s hiring increase may be down significantly from last year, results of the Job Outlook 2020 survey might indicate a return to normal levels of anticipated hiring. This year’s increase is more in line with the results in recent years; in fact, it is identical to where hiring began for the Class of 2017 (see Figure 1.)
For the fifth consecutive year, the largest group of employers (48.2 percent) will maintain their individual hiring numbers. In addition, 45.5 percent are planning to increase their individual hires, with the remaining 6.3 percent expecting to decrease their hiring numbers (see Figure 2.)
Even though the Class of 2020 is beginning with the same overall planned hiring increase as that for the Class of 2017, there are positive differences in this year’s results. For example, when compared to the results for the Class of 2017, nearly 10 percent more respondents are increasing hiring and 5 percent fewer respondents are decreasing hiring for the Class of 2020.
When asked to cite the reasons influencing their individual hiring numbers, many of the respondents to the Job Outlook 2020 survey reported company growth as a catalyst for increasing hires. A large group also pointed to the success of their internship program and indicated plans to increase their hiring by converting more interns.
Figure 1: Job Outlook Hiring Projections, 2012 – 2020
Figure 2: Employers’ Hiring Expectations
Data for the Job Outlook 2020 survey were collected from August 1, 2019, through September 30, 2019. This year’s data collection not only surveyed 905 NACE employer members, but also 2,229 employer organizations that were nonmembers.
(Source: NACE)
~ Posted by: Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter
