Written by - Nancy Steinbach

I’m Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Education Report.

More than one million college students are graduating this year in the United States.  A listener in Vietnam heard our recent report about graduation ceremonies.  Ha Lien asks about the job situation these new graduates now face. 

We found the answer at the National Association of Colleges and Employers.  N.A.C.E. researches the job market for new college graduates.  The report for the Class of Two Thousand Five offers the best news in four years.  Compared to last year, employers expect to hire thirteen percent more new graduates. 

Sixty-one percent of the employers in the report said they expect to hire more new graduates than they hired last year.  Last year that number was just over fifty percent.

The best chances for jobs may be at manufacturing companies.  The report says manufacturers expect to increase their jobs for young people fresh out of college by thirteen percent.  Service providers expect a twelve percent increase.

The middle of the country appears to be the area with the most demand.  Companies in the Midwest say they expect to increase their number of new college graduates this year by twenty-six percent.  The report says increases of fifteen percent are expected in both the West and the Northeast, and six percent in the South.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers says pay offers are up this year in a number of jobs.  The highest paying jobs are in computer software design and development.  The average offer of starting pay is almost fifty-four thousand dollars. 

The lowest pay is for teachers, at just under thirty thousand dollars.  Other top jobs for graduates this year include accountant, management trainee, sales, financial analyst, construction engineer and registered nurse. 

A good way to increase the chances of a job offer at graduation time is to join an internship program.  That way students get work experience while they are still in school. 

N.A.C.E. says that historically, about forty-five percent of American college students have jobs when they graduate.  Seventy-five percent are employed within about seven months. 

Some new graduates do not have that kind of pressure.  About twenty percent enter graduate school or other additional education.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Nancy Steinbach.  Our reports are on the Web at voaspecialenglish.com.  I’m Gwen Outen.