My Recruiting Blog

Especially in the United States, the employment picture has begun to look more promising than in the early half of this decade. For example, according to an analysis of Labor Department data by the Economic Policy Institute, entry-level wages for college and high school graduates, after factoring in inflation, fell by more than 4 percent from 2001 to 2005, this left many less than enthusiastic. However, the outlook for new entry level jobs is brighter in the later half of the decade with an expected rise of 7.3 percent in new positions this year. In addition, average hourly earnings have increased to $17.09 on average for the first two months of 2007. This is an increase of 4 percent overall from 2006 to 2007.

An article published on MoneyCnn.com website, February 8, 2007 in respect to findings from a survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), employers said they expect to hire 17.4 percent more college graduates in 2007 than they did last year in 2006. In addition, they plan, in some but not all instances, to pay them higher wages and compensations. Further, according to this article the most lucrative degrees for college graduates in respect to 2007 hiring are marketing majors and business administration. Obviously, there remains room at the top for an M.B.A., even though it was devalued and discouraged a few years earlier.

Let us look at where we have been in previous years to understand this new and optimistic outlook to find out who is hiring in 2007, we recommend visiting CollegeGrad.com to see their list of 500 top entry-level hirers for 2007. For the fifth year, running the top hiring company according to those surveyed by CollegeGrad.com is Enterprise Rent-a-Car. Yet, the list fails to explain why anyone with a college degree might pursue a position at a rental car company. On the other hand, Business Week has compiled a list of the Best Places to Launch a Career. At the top of their list of best employers is Walt Disney. Enterprise Rent-a-car is No. 5.

Yahoo!Answers, on the other hand, is an offshoot of Yahoo.com, which allows specific question and answer format for in-the-know individuals to answer obscure questions or those dependent on demographics and locales. When a visitor to the site posted the question, "What are the best paying entry level jobs?" 100% of those viewing this particular response agreed the answer is a registered nurse. There was no actual wage information included in the response so I looked in my own local newspaper and was surprised to discover the starting hourly wage for RNs in Honolulu is $47 per hour. Those filling Minnesota nursing jobs don't fair so well.

Of course, there is a downside to all of this good news and it pertains to new hire benefits. There is currently a sharp and significant decrease in the percentage of college graduates and others entering the workforce, many new hires and entry-level positions do not include traditional health and pension benefits. This can seriously reduce actual wages in the long term.

For example, an employee without medical coverage could go thousands of dollars into debt with one surgical procedure. In other words, suppose you have a new uninsured vehicle, which is totaled in a collision. It would be a total loss of your investment. Imagine if this vehicle were you or someone, you injured. It could mean a lifetime of debt if you are not insured. Our point is to do the real math and number crunch to determine the true value of a job offer, explore the internet and know what you need before you accept an offer.

Labels: entry level jobs