Facts and Sources

• Average overall college recruiting budget for companies coming to campus is $386,634, making the per hire cost $5,417 per student – Large employers dominate the campus recruiting space.  2006 NAS Insights; Campus Recruitment
• Only 19% of 2009 college grads had a job by graduation – The labor market is particularly difficult for recent grads since they are dependent on large employers who have downsized over the past year.  Prior years the placement rates were between 40-50%.  NACE 2009 Student Survey; College Class of 2009 Graduates With Fewer Jobs in Hand
• 6% of companies recruit for Liberal Arts degrees, yet 50% of college graduates receive such a degree – There is a huge mismatch between student supply and company demand.   Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), meanwhile, are more inclined than a larger employer to recruit a Liberal Arts major as their needs are more varied and cross-functional.  Workforce Management, March 2009 Newsletter
• 29% of surveyed employers are shifting hiring towards new college grads over experienced workers “primarily because of costs” but have no formal process to do so – With the current economic conditions, a recent grad is being valued over more experience workers.  Workforce Management, March 2009 Newsletter
• 90% students interested in unpaid or for-credit internships – Internships are increasingly important to students and could be an inexpensive resource for employers.  Despite this, most students don’t intern off campus while in school because they cannot find interested companies/opportunities.  SMB and Student Discussions/Surveys
• 80% employers would utilize an unpaid semester/summer intern – Employers are also very interested in offering internships, especially unpaid and for credit/experience.  Despite this, most SMBs don’t have internships during the year or over the summer because they can’t access student talent.  SMB and Student Discussions/Surveys
• Firms with fewer than 250 employees do 70 percent of the hiring in America – Smaller businesses are the biggest part of our economy and labor market.  Yet most firms with less than 250 employees do not use a traditional job board or recruit on campus for entry level positions or internships.  The Press Enterprise: Small Firms May Hire More Economic Outlook
• Businesses in their first 90 days of life accounted for 14% of hiring in the U.S. between 1993 and 2008 – Start-ups are critical to our economy and the labor market.  Recent grads are a particularly good fit for start-ups as the positions often require high-energy, fresh ideas, innovation, and flexibility, characteristics of this demographic.  Career Exploration Center at UT
• Companies with fewer than 50 employees accounted for more than 50% of the hiring in the second quarter of this year – Small businesses are driving our economy and the labor market and represent the most significant market opportunity for college students and recent grads.   Career Exploration Center at UT
• Seventy-five percent of all job postings in the second quarter of 2009 were for candidates with zero to three years of experience – Employers are looking to reduce salary costs in this economy by hiring more entry-level positions.  Career Exploration Center at UT
• There are 29M SMBs (less than 1,000 employees) in the US representing 99.8% of all companies – SMBs dominate the economy and are a huge untapped market for students, recent grads, and beyond.  2007 US Census Bureau; Businesses
• 19M students enrolled in US colleges and universities, 3.2M graduating annually, from a total of 4,352 institutions – This statistic highlights the size of the student/recent graduate population , which is almost equally as large as the SMB market.  2009 US Census Bureau; Back to School