The latest NACE Index has been released and shows some interesting results. My last post about the "some good news for a change?" regarding the NACE Index seems to have taken a turn for the worst. However, the activity on campus has continued to increase. Why? The trend could be attributed to experiential education recruiting (internships, co-ops, etc.) which would explain why employers would be increasing their campus activity - but not necessarily their hiring numbers.

The overall recruiting activity index for January 2010 is 98.6, which continues the trend toward increased on-campus activity first evident last month—the December 2009 index stood at 95.4.

However, the January college hiring index took a significant step back from the steady increases witnessed during the fall. The college hiring index declined from 98.2 to 86.4. In addition, 25.8 percent of respondents indicated they planned to increase hiring, a drop from December when 33.4 percent of employers polled said they expect to increase their college hiring. This suggests that there is still a considerable ways to go before the college hiring market fully recovers from its recessionary position.

One of the things to look for in this year’s spring recruiting season is the focus on internship recruiting. A number of respondents to the January poll indicated that they will be eschewing full-time college recruiting but maintaining or increasing their internship and co-op hiring. This explains why the college recruiting activity index continues to improve while the college hiring index has dropped in the past month.

Poll results are reported as an index with scores ranging from 0 to 200: 100 on the index represents no change in hiring prospects; scores below 100 represent an expected decrease in either recruiting activity or hiring levels; scores above 100 represent an expected increase in the short-term level of recruiting or college hiring. NACE is conducting its February poll February 1 through March 1. Results will be reported in Spotlight Online and on www.naceweb.org.

To stay apprised of the latest NACE research results you can visit www.naceweb.org and sign up for Spotlight Online - which is provided free to all those interested in college recruiting.

Keep your chin up!