This year's graduates face brighter job market

It's one of the biggest weekends of the year, with McCook High School, McCook Community College and many other high school and college graduations taking place -- and don't let Mom be overlooked on Mothers Day this Sunday.

But beyond the ceremonies, congratulations, gifts, cake and punch lies the looming question: What next?

Thankfully, the outlook for the Class of 2010 looks better than it did for the Class of 2009.

According to Manpower Inc., the seasonally adjusted outlook for the second quarter is up 5 percent, meaning employers expect a moderate increase in hiring over a year ago -- when the outlook was down 2 percent.

Nearly three-quarters of employers responding to the Manpower survey out in March expected to keep staff levels stable, and 12 of 13 industry sectors surveyed expected to add staff during the second quarter.

Only the government employee sector was expected to decline, by 1 percent.

The most promising places to find jobs were in leisure and hospitality (+17 percent); professional and business services (+15 percent); mining (+11 percent); nondurable goods manufacturing (+9 percent); financial activities (+9 percent); durable goods manufacturing (+8 percent); information (+8 percent); transportation and utilities (+8 percent); wholesale and retail trade (+7 percent); constructions (+4 percent); and education and health services (+3 percent).

And, the outlook for college graduates in particular is looking better, according to a newer survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. NACE found that employers expect to hire 5.3 percent more new college graduates this year than they did last year.

The survey also showed 37.6 percent of responding employers plan to increase college hiring, up from 26.8 percent the previous month.

The situation actually may be better than the survey indicated, since many of the employers said they do more recruiting in the fall than they do in the spring.

Granted, the job market is a moving target; for example, today's nursing graduates may find fewer jobs than they expected thanks to hiring freezes, uncertainty in the medical industry and older workers putting off retirement.

But congratulations to graduates at every level -- from high school to college and graduate degrees -- and kudos for completing years of hard work.

And, although that diploma is no guarantee of landing a job, it certainly makes the job outlook that much brighter.