Recruiting Trends, 2016-2017. 46th Edition. Brief 1: Hiring Outlook for the Class of 2016-17, Including Hiring Plans by Organization Size
Author: Michigan State University, Collegiate Employment Research Institute
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Recruitment,Trend Analysis,Personnel Selection,Majors (Students),Salaries,Labor Market,College Graduates,Employment Patterns,Economic Climate,Demand Occupations,Employment Opportunities,Employment,Small Businesses,Internship Programs,Corporations,Employers,Organization Size (Groups),Occupational Clusters,Retirement,Labor Turnover,Elections,Political Campaigns,Occupational Surveys

Key findings from 2016-17 are presented in this research brief. Data has been broken into the release of employer information into a series of short briefs, which are presented as parts of this series. Nearly 200 career service centers from around the country invited their employers to participate in this study. Approximately 4,350 employers provided information useful for understanding recruiting trends and practices. The information is used from those recruiting talent for full-time positions, internships, and co-ops for these research briefs. These economic briefs provide snapshots that can be used for interpreting the Recruiting Trends survey results. Their influence on the new college labor market may be borne out in survey responses. In some cases, these results mirror the broader economic situation; in others data may differ slightly depending on the region where the survey respondents are located or hiring, their sector, and the number of employees in the company. Results of the survey indicate that college hiring has been moving at warp speed for the past three years. Recruiting between 2013-14 and 2015-16 began early and continued through the entire academic year with career fairs at capacity and employer visits to campus at an all-time high. A recent U.S. census report states that median household income increased 5.2 percent in 2015, the largest yearly jump since 1967. Despite the Federal Reserve's reluctance to increase interest rates because of the remaining slack in the labor market, the economy has shown steady, improvement. Employment news has been largely positive throughout 2016. Over the last year, monthly gains in new jobs have averaged well over 200,000 per month. The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey data have all been positive, with the fourth quarter 2016 stronger than a year ago. They report 69 percent of employers plan to keep workforce levels steady, including replacement jobs, and 22 percent plan to hire during the fourth quarter. The sectors expected to perform well are hospitality; professional, business, and scientific services; retail trade; transportation; and wholesale trade. They are also anticipating payrolls to increase. Reports for small businesses were not as uplifting. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), which reports job creation data every August, states that small business optimism continues to be muted. Their Index of Small Business optimism is down 0.2 points and remains under the 40-year average. The lack of qualified candidates remains the small employer's number one problem. Small Business Trends shares the impact of increased automation that has reduced the need to fill positions with people. Jobs particularly hit hard include business and financial operations; office administration; sales; and transportation and material moving. The most consistent employment figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly employment report. Most economic sectors have shown job growth year over year. Strong growth was reported for education; health and social assistance; information services; nondurable goods manufacturing (food); professional, business, and scientific services (accounting; advertising and marketing; computer services; management consulting; and specialty design services); retail trade; transportation; and wholesale trade. Durable goods manufacturing (communications equipment; fabricated metals; primary metals; and machinery), mining, oil, and mining support services; and rail transportation all incurred steep drops in employment over the last year. All the key sectors reporting to the survey showed improvement over the calendar year. Eighty-seven percent of respondents reported that they hired at least one new college graduate during the 2015-16 academic year. Among this group, only 3 percent reported that they do not expect to hire new graduates this year. The employers represented in this sample plan to hire nearly 107,200 new graduates this year.