More Full-Time Jobs Available to US College Students in 2021/22, Report Says

After more than a year since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, the college labor market is becoming resilient again, and college graduates will be able to access many job opportunities, according to the 51st Annual Recruiting Trends Survey and Report published by Michigan State University.

The survey has involved companies and organizations seeking new college talent, 66 percent of whom described the new college labor market as “very good to excellent”, Erudera.com reports.

“Employers who sat out last year or lower hiring expectations in the face of uncertainty COVID projected into the economy return eager to hire. Associate and bachelor hiring benefits by doubledigit growth with the focus on the 15% increase expected for bachelor’s talent,” the report reads.

According to findings, 53 percent of employers want to recruit college graduates for full-time positions as well as early talent programs, while 14 percent of respondents indicated that they are focused on recruiting graduates only for full-time positions.

Other findings show that there is also a college gender gap with more men not attending college and women continuing to obtain college degrees due to lack of better job opportunities for those without a degree.

“Men still dominate in engineering, technology and finance. MBA programs still slightly favor men, but this past year saw men fill over 60% of open MBA positions with women either out of work force or over looked because of working from home,” the report adds.

In order to reach more talents, employers said that they are using digital opportunities. According to the report, 50 percent of employers participating in the survey had managed to recruit nationally compared to the past when the percentage was in the low 20s. The latter said that that they now recruit across the Unites States.

“Though we still emphasize the regions where we have offices and facilities, we are accepting candidates regardless of geographic location,” a recruiter said.

Almost 90 percent of employers pointed out that their recruitment is focused at four-year public and private institutions (not for profit), 42 percent work with two-year community colleges, and 34 percent consider hiring talents at for-profit institutions.

The survey has highlighted that there was an employer from every state participating in the survey; however, the highest number of respondents was from the following states:

• California
• Florida
• Illinois
• Michigan
• Ohio
• Texas
• Wisconsin

Meanwhile, sectors with the most respondents were: BPSS (22 percent), manufacturing (12 percent), education (12 percent), health (8 percent), non-profits (7 percent), government (7 percent), finance (7 percent), construction (5 percent).