College Grads’ Job Prospects Slightly Improved, Survey Says

New college graduates will find it slightly easier to turn their degrees into paychecks next spring, especially if they have internships on their resumes, a hiring survey released today shows.

The survey by Michigan State University projects a 4.7% increase in the number of new college graduates who can expect to get jobs. If so, it will be the third straight year for an improvement.

“It remains a very competitive job market out there, so the graduates by no means will find it easy hunting,” survey author Patrick Scheetz said. “It is a modest improvement.”

Scheetz, director of the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at the school, also said those with the best job prospects are engineers, computer scientists, business majors, health professionals and science majors.

Starting salaries will inch up only about half a percent compared to last year, he said.

Chemical engineers will draw the biggest starting annual pay--$41,183--and journalists will be offered the lowest--$20,154.

Scheetz said hiring will nevertheless be below the levels of 1988-89. Prospects are brightest in the southeastern and north-central regions of the country.

“There has been so much downsizing and re-engineering going on that many of the opportunities that once existed have disappeared,” he said. “There are many jobs that have been lost in recent years, and those probably will not return for many, many years.”

Federal agencies expecting tighter budgets are cutting staffing levels substantially and private employers are cautious about expanding too much, he said.

The survey of 527 businesses, industries and governmental agencies showed that the chances of landing a job are better if the candidate has career-related experience such as an internship.