This year's job market for graduating seniors is the best it's been since 2001, experts say, riding on the coattails of an economic upswing.
Both starting salaries and the number of available jobs are on the rise nationally, and at Penn, the recruiting season -- which is wrapping up now-- has been very strong.
Employers expect to hire 14.5 percent more new college graduates this year than were hired last year, according to a report that the National Association of Colleges and Employers released earlier this year.
The annual report is based on a survey of 250 national employers who are members of the association, a trade organization for career advisers and employers.
Association representative Andrea Koncz said that, on average, employers expect to hire 93 new college graduates each this year, compared to 81 graduates last year.
This year's job market should also feature slightly higher starting salaries, Career Services Director Patricia Rose said. With more employers competing for the most qualified seniors, they have no choice but to raise their offers, Rose added.
The number of expected annual hires per employer has been rising for the past three years, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
About 66 percent of the employers surveyed -- which ranged from engineering and accounting firms to educational services -- said that they planned to increase the number of jobs offered compared to last year, according to Koncz.
Demand for new employees is also strong this year compared to years past at Penn.
"Everything we're doing with employers is robust ... and everything we're hearing from students is that they're getting jobs," Rose said.
Rose said that Career Services scheduled 10 percent more interviews this year than last year and that the total number of interviews is the highest since 2001.
Megan Charlton, who is in charge of Philadelphia-area campus recruiting for financial-services firm PriceWaterhouse Coopers, said that recruiting at the firm is "on the upswing" this year.
The company recently increased its intended number of hires in the Philadelphia area by 10 percent, she said.
"Our goal is to continue to increase [the number of new college graduates hired] every year," she added.
Rose said investment banks and consulting firms -- the two biggest hirers of Penn students -- all have particularly aggressive recruiting programs this year.
Investment banks and consulting firms had not done much hiring for a few years, but now "they are back in a big way," she said.
Wharton senior Paul Treichler agreed that the recruiting season has been strong this year.
"Everyone that I know has gotten a job that they like," he said.
Treichler, who will be working in marketing for Microsoft next year, said he had "a number of offers to choose from" and was happy with his starting salary at Microsoft.
Underclassmen are benefitting from the improving economy as well.
Rose said that summer internship programs are hiring more students this year.
For example, she said, Lehman Brothers -- an investment bank that usually hires newly minted Penn graduates every year--doubled the size of its internship program this summer. And internship programs are hiring younger students than they typically do, including sophomores and freshmen in some cases, she said.
The rise in the number of internships is important, especially for juniors. Students often are hired for full-time jobs with the companies at which they interned during previous summers.
