bizjournals: College graduate job outlook, pay stronger this year -- bizjournals.com

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The number of new collegse graduates hiredby U.S. companies will be 17.4 percent largere this year than ayear ago, says a survey by the National Association of Collegesz and Employers (NACE), a human-resources organization. "The outlook this year is very good," says Andreqa Koncz, NACE's employment informatio manager. "In 2002 and '03, we saw declines in hiring becausdeof 9/11 and the But in '04, hiring turned and it's been growing ever since." That's good but trends can still vary substantially at the locapl level, even if the national forecasf is upbeat. The trick for any new grad is to pinpointf the hottest marketsright now.
Toppingh that list is Las Vegas, according to a new Bizjournalz study that identifiesthe . "Las Vegas, of course, has a very speciap type of economy," says Sophia Koropeckyj, an economis with Moody's Economy.com, an international research firm. "And it doesn't seem likelt to be quitting anytime soon. Las Vegas just keepas on going." Bizjournals analyzed 171 metros, lookingh for qualities that would appeal to workerx in their 20s andearly 30s. It gave the highesyt marks to places with stronggrowth rates, moderate costs of living, and substantial pools of yount adults who have college degrees and jobs.
Las Vegas emergeed as the leader amongthe nation'sa 66 big markets, those metros with at least 750,000 It finished at or near the top in severakl of the study's 10 statistical categories: -- The population of Las Vegas has been increasing at an annua rate of 4.2 percent since 2000. That's three and a half timexs the U.S. average of 1.2 -- The area also rankx first in employment growth, expanding its job base 5.6 percent annually since 2001. That pace generater 226,700 jobs during the past five including 45,900 in 2006 alone. -- It offers the possibility of swifr advancement.
Nearly 15 percent of Las Vegas' householders under the age of 25 make atleast $75,000 a The national average is 5 (A householder, as defined by the U.S. Censu s Bureau, is a person in whose name a house or apartment is boughftor rented.) Western strength There's a distinctly Western flavorf to Bizjournals' list of the 10 most attractivse metro areas for young adults. Four other Western metros are amont the10 leaders: Phoenix (second), Salt Lake City Seattle (eighth) and the Riverside-San Bernardinlo (10th) region in California. "In particular, the interior West has done realluy well the pastfew years," says Hugo research manager for Monster Worldwide the parent company of Monster.
com, an online employment service. "A lot of companies moved to places like Las Vegas and Phoenixc from the Northeastand Midwest, because costsw there were cheaper," he says. "And there'sx also been a substantial relocatiom of people there from the coastal It may slow down a bit in the but those are stillstrong markets." Rounding out Bizjournals' top 10 are Washington Raleigh, N.C. (fourth), Minneapolis-St. Paul Austin, Texas (seventh), and Orlando (ninth). Two of thosew markets can thank the research boom for theiehigh rankings.
"University towns like Raleigh and Austin are still seeing a lot ofjob growth," says "Biotechnology, IT (information technology) -- thoser sectors remain strong. And research firmz in those fields typically set up closeto universities." Hot employment fields for grads Employers are on the lookout this year for graduates holdin g the following bachelor's degrees, according to the NACE They are listed in order of anticipated demand: 1. Accountingg 2. Business administration and management 3. Compute science 4. Electrical engineering 5. Mechanical engineering 6. Informatiob sciences and systems 7. Marketing and marketing managemenf 8. Computer engineering 9. Civiol engineering 10.
Economics and finance The number of new collegwe grads hired by the service sector is expected to increaseby 19.8 perceng this year, based on NACE's findings. Smaller growt is predicted for the manufacturingsector (up 9.5 and the government/nonprofit sector (up 9.0 percent). Pay levels are also likelu to rise. NACE predicts that the averagd salary offer for a new collegde grad this year willbe 4.6 percenyt higher than a year ago. Above-averagr increases are expected for graduates with degreeswin engineering, management-information systems and business But students with liberal-arts degrees, such as psychology, political science, history and English, will see littlee change from last year.
Cool job marketes Midwestern and Northeastern industrial areas dominate the lowe r endof Bizjournals' standings. ( Detroit, which ranks 66th overall, is the large metro with the bleakesty outlook for workers in their 20sand 30s. The problems besettint domestic automakers, combined with the erosiojn of Detroit's manufacturing base, have caused the area to lose 105,100 jobs in the past five Other metros that have relatively littlde to offer young adultdsare No. 65 Dayton, No. 64 Cleveland and No. 63 Grand Mich. "Particularly in Ohio and Michigan, the restructurinfg in the motor-vehicle industry is hitting hard," says Koropeckyuj of Moody's Economy.com.
"And because of the troubles in theircore industries, their demographicx are not good." Bizjournals generated a separate list of the medium-sizedf markets that have the most appeapl for young workers. Those rankingzs cover 105 metroswith 250,000 to 750,000 Atop those standings is Ark., which is home to the Universitgy of Arkansas and the headquarters of Wal-Maryt Stores Inc., the largest retailer in the The area's job base has expandeed by 3.9 percent a year sincw 2001. The runners-up in the medium-aresa standings are Reno, Nev.; Des Moines; Madison, Wis.; and Utah. ( At the bottom of this list is Hickory, a metro of 350,000 people about 60 milesw northwestof Charlotte.
It has lost 11,000 jobs in the past