It’s a good time to be a graduating Terp. The class of 2006 will experience the most open job market in four years, according to a study released by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, which surveyed employers from all regions of the United States.
The percentage of employers who rated the job market as “very good” for college graduates nearly doubled from 22.1 percent in 2004-05 to 39.9 percent in 2005-06.
Andrea Koncz, NACE’s employment information manager, said many companies plan to hire more employees because they have experienced a lot of growth recently.
“[The job market] has been gradually growing over the years; 2003 to 2004 was the beginning of the turnaround, and it has been getting better since then,” Koncz said.
Javaune Adams-Gaston, director of the University Career Center, said she has also noticed an improvement in the job market. The change became evident when employers showed an increased interest in this year’s career fair, attended by almost 3,000 employers over two days.
Adams-Gaston associates the increase with the fact that many employees from the baby-boomer generation are starting to retire, opening up many job opportunities. She also believes the adaptation of the U.S. economy to a more global society improves the job market for students by creating opportunities outside the United States.
NACE also found graduates in accounting, business and engineering may be looking at not only more jobs but also higher starting salaries than previous graduates.
Senior accounting major Michael Cerrone said the majority of accounting majors he knows already have a job lined up. He is the only one out of his group of friends still looking for a job, he says, but he’s not worried.
“It feels good to have something to fall back on,” Cerrone said. “It is good for me because I can relocate where I want to go because there will be an opportunity anywhere.”
Senior business major Chris Askey also found the job market more open when he discovered this week that there were still openings at a company he had looked into back in February.
“The main thing is to take advantage of it and not let the opportunity go by,” Askey said. “Don’t take it for granted, because in a few years, it may not be as good.”
Although she does not know for sure, Adams-Gaston predicts this increase will continue for a few more years.
“For the last few years, we have seen an increase in expected percentage of applicants that will attain jobs,” she said, “and it probably will continue for the next several years.”
Contact reporter Kaitlyn Seith at seithdbk@gmail.com.
