Congrats, grads: The proportion of employers planning to hire recent college graduates hit a decade-high this year.
Almost three-fourths of employers intend to hire college graduates this year, according to a new survey from CareerBuilder. That’s up from 67 percent in 2016 and marks the best outlook from employers since 2007.
Related: 5 Alarming Facts About America’s $1.3 Trillion in Student Loan Debt
"Competition for soon-to-be college grads is escalating to a degree we haven't seen in the last 10 years," said Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer for CareerBuilder.
Half of the employers surveyed expect to offer higher pay than last year, up from 37 percent in 2016, with almost two in five planning to offer a starting salary of $50,000 or more. Seven in 10 employers are open to negotiating salaries.
Forty-five percent of employers are recruiting college seniors, while almost a quarter are looking for candidates during graduate school. One in four employers who are not hiring college grads this year said they need more experienced workers.
Of those looking for college grads, recruits who studied business and technology are the most sought-after by employers this year. Here are the 10 majors that are most in demand:
- Business
- Engineering
- Computer and Information Sciences
- Engineering Technologies
- Communications Technologies
- Math and Statistics
- Construction Trades
- Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences
- Science Technologies
- Architecture and Planning
Related: The Best Colleges for Older Students
The national survey polled 2,380 hiring managers and human resource professionals in the private sector across industries and company sizes between February 16 and March 9 of this year.
