Graduates of the Class of 2011 can let out a sigh of relief.
According to a recent survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, hiring from the Class of 2011 is expected to see a 13.5 percent increase from the Class of 2010.
“The current outlook is more promising than we have seen in a while, so that’s good news,” Director of Communications for NACE Mimi Collins said.
Collins attributed the increased hiring of graduates to the fact that “the economy is improving somewhat” and that “employers are now opening up their hiring somewhat.”
At GW, Anne V. Scammon, director of career learning and experience at the Career Center, said she believes that requests from seniors coming in to talk about their post-graduation options have been slightly higher this fall.
“Students are more hopeful about their options, and are returning to the Center in higher numbers, because there are more jobs,” Scammon said.
Nearly half – or 48 percent – of the 197 employers surveyed said they would increase their hiring of recent college graduates, while 12.2 percent of employers indicated that they would decrease their hiring of college graduates.
NACE broke down the expected hiring percentages by region, finding that the largest hiring increase will occur in the West, where employers are looking to hire 23.5 percent more graduates.
In the Northeast, however, the increase in hiring is expected to be about 13.1 percent, closer to the national average.
According to the report, two-thirds of the hiring will be done in the fall, and one-third of the hiring will be done in the spring – in line with Scammon saying she has seen more GW seniors “trying to start early” with their job searches.
Senior Evan Waxman said it is encouraging that employers plan to hire more graduates from the Class of 2011.
“I know a lot of people who graduated that still don’t have jobs, so any positive numbers going that way sound good to me,” Waxman said.
Mark Battles, another senior, said the results only made him “feel about 13 percent better.”
“I am pretty worried about [getting a job], I have no idea what the hell I am going to do,” Battles said.
