According to a new study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), the hiring of new college graduates should increase 13 percent over last year. To wit:

Overall, 61.4 percent of respondents expect to hire more new college graduates in 2004-05 than they hired in 2003-04. [....] Service sector employers project the most positive hiring picture: On average, they plan to hire 13.9 percent more new college graduates in 2004-05 than they did in 2003-04. Manufacturers paint a similarly positive picture: On average, they plan to hire 13.4 percent more graduates this year than they did in 2003-04. In the government/nonprofit sector, the "good news" is actually that there appears to be less bad news. Government/nonprofit employers report just a slight increase of 0.9 percent in their 2004-05 college graduate hiring, but this is positive movement from 2003-04 when they cut college hiring by 4.5 percent.

By region, employers in the Midwest predict the biggest increase, projecting college hiring to increase by 15.1 percent over 2003-04 levels. Employers in the West and Northeast report similar increases in their college hiring. Respondents from the West expect a 13.9 percent increase, and their counterparts in the Northeast expect a 13.3 percent increase. Southern employers report plans to increase college hiring by 8.9 percent.

As they say, a rising tide lifts all boats.

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