By Steve Christol
Daily Bruin Contributor
Despite a lagging economy, graduating seniors may have an easier
time finding work this year than last year, though hiring on the
West Coast is expected to decline.
According to results of a survey released earlier this month by
the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the hiring of
graduating college seniors is expected to increase by 18.8 percent
this year.
The survey, however, showed that the expected increase in hiring
rates has actually decreased since August. At that time, the NACE
conducted a similar survey which showed that employers expected to
hire 23.4 percent more college graduates in 2001 than they did in
2000. That number has since fallen.
Of the employers that responded to the survey conducted in
March, 47.7 percent said they would not change their hiring outlook
this year from what was estimated in the August survey. Just over
45 percent said they would decrease their hiring expectations, and
6.5 percent said they would increase it.
The survey showed that employers in the West are scaling back
their hiring rates more than employers from other regions of the
country. According to the survey, 61.3 percent of employers in the
West plan to reduce hiring of new college graduates. Less than 45
percent of employers in the Northeast, South and Midwest expect to
cut back college hiring.
This makes it imperative for graduating seniors in the West to
begin searching for employment if they have not already done so,
according to Al Aubin, associate director for counseling and campus
relations at the UCLA Career Center.
“We do encourage next year’s graduating seniors to
start the process as early as possible to be prepared,” Aubin
said, “Our recruiters remain eager to participate in our
career days and recruiting events.”
Steve Kaufman, a recent alumnus from UCLA, said finding a job is
hard today because there are many qualified people competing
against each other.
“You need to be patient. Wait for something to come to
you. Don’t look for something you don’t want because
there might not be anything right away,” said Kaufman, who
got his degree in economics but is looking to work in the
entertainment industry.
The economic downturn in the West is largely due to the recent
shortcomings in the high-tech industry and is expected to affect
Northern California more than Southern California, according to
economists with the UCLA Anderson Business Forecast. The Anderson
Forecast is widely considered the best known and most trusted
business forecast for California.
According to a statement on the Anderson School at UCLA Web
site, a recession is expected to hit the San Francisco Bay Area
because of the large concentration of high-tech businesses there.
Southern California will most likely avoid such a recession, but
economic stresses here will still be apparent.
Regarding the Anderson Forecast, Aubin said, “The results
of this forecast and the NACE national study indicate that there
may be a light decrease in employment.
“Forecasters seem to be in agreement that Northern
California, particularly Silicon Valley will be much more affected
than Southern California,” he said.
The Anderson Forecast predicted both the recession in California
during the early 1990s and the strong economic rebound in the state
since 1993.
Aubin also said employment in general is expected to be going
down ““ not just hiring rates for graduating seniors.
“Although some firms are laying off employees, they are
still hiring new graduates,” he said.
Stephanie Baglio, a recruiting contact for Barra, Inc., an
investment firm based in Berkeley, California, said her company
does not plan to change their expected hiring rate for college
graduates this year.
“We hired 30 new college graduates last year and expect to
hire about the same amount this year,” Baglio said.
Also, a spokesman for Pricewaterhouse Coopers, LLP, a
professional services organization, said their Los Angeles office
expects to hire the same amount of college graduates this year as
they did last year. He said they stay pretty much consistent with
their hiring and hire about 50 new college graduates every
year.
“Many employers plan to cut back, but they aren’t
curtailing college hiring,” said NACE Executive Director
Marilyn Mackes in a statement on the NACE Web site.
“We’re still looking at a very positive market for new
college graduates.”
Job Outlook for College Grads The expected
increase in hiring rates for 2001 college graduates has decreased
since August, according to a survey by the National Association of
Colleges and Employers SOURCE: "Job Outlook 2001 Update," NACE
Original graphic by VICTOR CHEN/Daily Bruin Web adaptation by MIKE
OUYANG/Daily Bruin