Many UW-Madison students graduating this spring will have an easier time finding jobs than last spring's graduates, Karen Stauffecher, director of business school career services said Friday. This trend matches the findings of a Michigan State University study released Friday about college students nationwide.
The MSU study showed more companies attracting business, physical science and hotel management majors plan on hiring the same number or more employees in the future.
Though the 55 percent of companies this applied to last year increased to only 60 percent this year, Stauffecher pointed to other aspects of labor market trends suggesting a more dramatic increase in job opportunities for future college graduates.
\Over the past three years, the hiring has been cut back so dramatically that now that business is starting to pick up, they don't have the people they need to meet new sales and new growth,"" Stauffecher said. ""When [employers] haven't hired some entry-level people for three years, they have a definite need for that.""
As proof of higher enthusiasm for entry-level workers, Stauffecher noted while the 300 to 400 employers who seek job applicants on campus annually has not gone up, their willingness to consider UW-Madison undergraduates from the business school has. She said many employers are cautiously adding staff, inviting UW-Madison students on second interviews across the country and are optimistic about hiring young people who will work for lower wages than experienced professionals.
Additionally, Stauffecher said she has recently been receiving fewer e-mails from unemployed alumni seeking employment help and more requests for applicants from employment agencies. She attributed this upswing to a slowly stabilizing national economy.
""All the indicators here look good,"" she said.
However, the MSU study showed employment is not so good for engineering majors, master's and doctoral students, who will face tougher markets. Specifically, the surveys predicted doctoral recipient hirings to drop 11 percent in 2004 and MBA recipients' to decrease 5 percent.
Mike Casper, a UW-Madison senior majoring in engineering with a certificate in business, said he can feel the relatively tight job market for engineering majors now. When the economy improves, immediate work becomes available to business students. Engineering majors are about six months behind this trend, Casper said.
Despite the study's dismal predictions for engineering majors, Casper said he thinks jobs are there for those who will work to seek them out.
""I have had two job offers already,"" Casper said.
