The hiring outlook for new college graduates shows signs of improvement, according to results of the latest NACE Index. Each month, NACE polls its employer members and reports the results as an index for college hiring and an index for recruiting activity. Index scores range from 0 to 200 (100 represents no change; scores below 100 represent an expected decrease; scores above 100 represent an expected increase).   

Results of NACE’s latest poll, conducted November 2 – December 1, show that the index for college hiring stands at 87.2—up slightly from 86.8 in the October poll. (See Figure 1.) Although the increase is small, it does point to improvement in college hiring when combined with other factors. For example, 28 percent of employers in the November survey report plans to increase their college hiring, compared to approximately 26 percent in NACE’s October poll, and just 17 percent in August.   

The current index for recruiting activity is 89.8, down slightly from 92.6 in the October poll, and points to a further decline in recruiting activity over the December to February period. Traditionally, however, the December to February period is generally slower in terms of recruiting activity and the index may simply reflect that.  

NACE’s next index will be based on a poll running December 2, 2009 – January 4, 2010. Results will appear on NACEWeb and in Spotlight Online. 

While hiring looks slightly better, the unemployment rate for four-year college graduates has not dropped, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Services (BLS). Since June, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for these graduates has remained between 4.7 and 4.9 percent. In the latest report from BLS, the unemployment rate for college graduates stands at 4.9 percent, up from 4.7 percent in October. 

Still, there was good news from the BLS report. The overall unemployment rate receded to 10.0 percent in November and, after revision, the estimates of job loss for September and October were smaller than previously reported.