College Graduates Could Have an Easier Time Getting Jobs Next Year
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The job market is looking brighter for this year's college seniors as companies are predicting rosier hiring plans following the tight budgets and scaled back hiring graduates saw this year.
Employers plan to hire 7.3% more graduates from the class of 2025, with strong increases expected in finance and manufacturing careers, according to a new report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
An increase of that size would mark a major turnaround in the hiring of college graduates. Prior to this latest report, the association's semi-annual survey of employers had shown consecutive decreases in intended hiring in the spring of 2024 (-5.8%) and the fall of 2023 (-1.9%).
This spring's graduates faced a more challenging job market as several large sectors including financial firms and computer and electronics manufacturers scaled back hiring. Meanwhile, the gap between the unemployment rate for recent graduates and the rate for all college degree holders grew to 2.8 percentage points earlier this year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. With the exception of the early pandemic months, that’s the largest gap in more than 30 years.
But the overall macroeconomic environment is improving — inflation is down, interest rates are cooling and stocks are soaring. These trends should help make the job search a bit easier for students graduating in 2025.
This year, 57.1% of employers say they plan to maintain their hiring of recent grads. The overall increase in hiring comes from the 27% of employers that are planning to bump up how many people they bring on. Only 16% of employers expect to decrease hiring.
"The main reason for the increase in hiring, as indicated by those [employers], is their commitment to succession planning and the importance of their talent pipelines. Also, more than 60% reported that their companies are growing," the National Association of Colleges and Employers said in the report.
The increased labor demand for recent grads could also mean higher salaries, with over 40% of employers saying they'll increase salaries for the class of 2025. And the good news doesn't stop there: 52% of employers plan to offer signing bonuses this year, the highest level since 2019.
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