The job prospect for college graduates in the Class of 2016 is in upward trend across many industries.

Magnolia Salas, a communications and marketing coordinator in Syracuse University’s Career Services, said the job prospect for 2016 graduates is good based on the data collected from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) — the statistic Career Services uses as a standard to evaluate the job prospect.

“A lot of employers are definitely ramping up their hiring because, you know, they are seeing more profits, their budgets are bigger, they are trying to see the needs and new places that might not have been before,” Salas said.

Employers in the United States are planning to hire 11 percent more new college graduates from the Class of 2016 than they did from the Class of 2015, according to NACE.

The perception of the job market among employers is also improving. Forty-two percent of employers who participated in an annual NACE Job Outlook survey described the job market for Class of 2016 graduates as “very good or excellent” — a significant jump from two years ago when only 18 percent of employers gave such positive outlook for the Class of 2014.

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The latest available data from Career Services shows graduates from the SU class of 2014 had 88 percent placement rate, meaning they got full-time employment or went to graduate schools.

Based on responses from 1,333 out of 3,116 bachelor’s degree recipients from the Class of 2014, 71 percent were employed full time, 17 percent attended graduate schools, 6 percent were still seeking, 3 percent were doing internship and 2.9 percent were employed part time, according to the Class of 2014 Outcome Report.

The average base salary for graduates of the SU Class of 2014 was $47,107, according to the Career Services’ Outcome Report.

The unemployment rate for recent college grads — individuals between 22 and 27 years of age who hold a bachelor’s as of December — stood at 4.6 percent, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Salas said Career Services is open throughout the summer for SU students who are in the middle of their job or internship search process.

School and college breakdown

Kelly Barnett, director of the Career Development Center (CDC) at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, said there has been slow but steady improvement in the job market for communication majors compared to 2009 when the U.S. economy took a hit.

“Things are still recovering but every year is a little bit better than the one before,” Barnett said.

She said the CDC does not yet have the exact number of the Class of 2016 graduates who have obtained employment.

She added that the communication industry is “unique” in that employment prospect in the sector generally cannot be speculated months in advance. Most hiring in the communication industry takes places after graduation, she said.

“By and large for any Newhouse class that is graduating only about 1/4 to 1/3 of students have a job at the graduation,” Barnett said. “So it’s more of a norm not to have a job at the graduation but the next six months following commencement is when we really see a lot of things are happening.”

Barnett added that communication fields that overlap with health care or government are growing.

Angela Petrucco, assistant dean of the Martin J. Whitman School of Management career services, said in an email that as of April 26, almost 60 percent of the school’s graduating class has a job offer in hand. Nineteen percent is in “an active interviewing cycle right now” and 7.4 percent have plans to attend graduate school, she added. The information is based on an 89 percent knowledge rate — meaning 89 percent of the graduating seniors have shared their post-graduation plans with the Career Center.

Meredith Tornabene, associate director of career counseling  in the School of Information Studies, said the job market for iSchool graduates is good overall, but dependent on students’ interests and skills since iSchool degrees are flexible in many different industries.

Among 94 percent students from the Class of 2015 who responded to a survey, 50 percent of them said they received job offers before graduation. The placement rate for the Class of 2015 iSchool graduate was 95 percent, Tornabene said.

Overall, Tornabene said the job market for iSchool graduates is generally improving because of the overall economic recovery and a greater emphasis in technology across the industries.

Tornabene added that jobs within the information technology field are growing and there is still “a lack of talent to fill” the sector.

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“I mean that has been true for quite some time now. It only seemingly keeps getting more focused,” Tornabene said.

She added that there is also a growth in the financial industry since any successful financial company is really a technology company.

In order to get a job, she said experience is “extremely important.” Students who have completed internships have a higher likelihood of being able to secure full-time employment either more quickly or more in the exact role that they are looking for.

Brenda Hoefler, coordinator of career services and certification in the School of Education, said in an email that the state of the job market for 2016 School of Education graduates is “quite promising.”

“Many schools in the local, regional, and national level have teaching vacancies in all content areas, which gives our students the ability to explore many options,” Hoefler said.

Although the school does not have information about how many of Class of 2016 graduates have already gotten jobs, Hoefler said 50 percent of the graduates in the Class of 2015 reported they secured employment and 50 percent indicated they were attending graduate school within six months of graduation.

Based on the average over the last four years, Hoefler added 46 percent of undergraduates secured employment and 51 percent of undergraduates attended graduate school.

Sue Casson, director of career development and services at the College of Arts and Sciences, said the career center is in the process of compiling a data on the Class of 2016 graduates’ job prospect.

Michele Barrett, director of communications at the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, said in an email that Falk academic programs prepare students, including the class of 2016 graduates, to enter into growing career fields — some of which are higher than the national average.

Barrett said career fields that are anticipated to continue growing include health care, veteran services, criminal justice and child welfare.

Representatives from the College of Visual and Performing Arts, the College of Engineering and Computer Science and the College of Law could not be reached for comment.

For Class of 2014 graduates, 67 percent from VPA, 73.5 percent from College of Engineering and Computer Science and 96 percent from School of Architecture obtained full-time employment, according to the Career Services’ Outcome Report.

Student debt hits record high

Student debt stands at about $946 billion as of the fourth quarter in 2015, according to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

Seven in 10 seniors who graduated from public and nonprofit colleges in 2014 had student loan debt, with an average of $28,950 per borrower, according to the Institute for College Access and Success.

The institute also reported the average debt of SU graduates in the year 2014 was $34,584.

Don Dutkowsky, an economics professor in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, said the year-to-year change of student debt is in downward trend because households were desperate to spend.

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Dutkowsky said even though the job market is relatively good for college graduates, rising student loan debt would delay post-college plans like buying houses, and make putting funds away for savings challenging.

When asked about advice for those who have student debt, Dutkowsky said he would advise graduates to get their degree first and don’t try to do everything at once.

“Give yourself a chance. Give yourself time to establish your career (and) move forward in your career,” Dutkowsky said. “Your first job will not be your last job.”

Published on May 11, 2016 at 8:00 pm

Contact Satoshi: ssugiyam@syr.edu | @SatoshiJournal