Employers Plan to Hire Fewer Recent Graduates Than Expected

The competition for jobs among college students set to graduate in 2013 looks like it’s going to be tougher than initially expected.

According to a survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, companies are expecting their college hiring levels to remain relatively unchanged when compared with last year’s levels.

Overall, employers plan to hire only 2.1 percent more college graduates from the class of 2013 than they did from the class of 2012. The report says this number is down 10.9 percent from estimates determined by a similar survey conducted by the NACE in the fall of 2012.

About half of the survey’s respondents indicated they plan to hire more new graduates than last year. However, more than a third said they expect to hire fewer new grads than they did last year.

 “The new projection is consistent with recent job reports that show job growth is less than anticipated,” said Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director, in a written statement.

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