More jobs to be offered to new grads, survey says

The college class of 2004 is somewhat in luck. Employers are expected to hire 11.2 percent more of them than they did from the class of 2003. The projection comes from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, which follows job trends for new graduates.\n"This was the first year that (employers) have predicted an increase in the hiring of new college graduates since 2001," says Andrea Carr, the association's employment information manager.\nBut put that in perspective. "You have to keep in mind that the last couple of years there was little hiring and there are still job seekers left over" from those graduating classes, she says.\nEmployers are hiring more graduates as management trainees than anything else this year, according to the association. Its list of best-paid jobs is topped by software design and development, with starting salaries estimated to average $53,630.\nThe association expects salaries to be mostly unchanged this year for engineering and liberal arts graduates but up 1.9 percent for accounting majors and 4.7 percent for business administration graduates. Information sciences and systems students are in for the biggest increase --10.7 percent.\nThe association predicts that service businesses will lead the pack this year, increasing their college hires by 16.1 percent. Manufacturers, meanwhile, are expected to hire 12.6 percent more graduates. Bringing down the overall average is a projected 4.5 percent decrease in hiring by governments and nonprofits.\nGraduates' employment outlook is best in the Northeast, where the association foresees 20.9 percent more job offers. The South, West and Midwest follow with estimated increases of 10.5 percent, 8.3 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively.