2009 Job Market Not Looking So Hot

This years college graduates will have to compete with 1.8 million jobless degree holders for positions after graduation.  And is the competition wasn’t bad enough, the jobs that are available are not paying what they did last year. They are actually paying less.

Now comes more evidence, if any were needed, that the job market for college-educated talent is hurting: The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) reports that the average salary offer for 2009 graduates with bachelor’s degrees is down 2.2% from the same time last year. In 2008 a typical senior was being promised $49,624, while this year’s number currently stands at $48,515.

The salary cuts mark an abrupt reversal from six months ago, when NACE was reporting that salaries were up 7.6% year-over-year. Since then, the percentage of disciplines reporting a decline in starting salaries has tripled.

Some majors, however, are faring better than others, particularly “anything you need a credential to do,” says Leslie Kohlberg, undergraduate career services director at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Engineering majors posted a 2.3% increase in their overall average, now $58,438, while the average salary offer for those earning accounting degrees rose 2%, to $48,377.

Though employers’ don’t have as many jobs available right now, they are hoping that the economy will be looking up in the next year.  If you can’t find a job out there, you can always go to grad school…

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