Growth in Higher Education Job Postings and Employment Slows as Use of Part-time Faculty Increases

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Nov 18, 2011, 12:40 ET

STATE COLLEGE, Pa., Nov. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Advertisements for job openings in higher education rose 16.5 percent in the third quarter of 2011, according to a new report from HigherEdJobs, the leading source for jobs and career information in academia. The number of actual jobs in higher education also grew in Q3, but at a slower pace than previous quarters. (http://www.higheredjobs.com/career/quarterly-report.cfm)

The report also found that colleges and universities continued to increase their reliance on part-time faculty during the third quarter even though the actual number of full-time faculty postings was up. Postings for part-time faculty were up 18.1 percent, outpacing the 12.3 percent growth in postings for full-time faculty. As a result, the percentage of faculty postings for part-time employees increased to 20.3 percent, up from 19.5 percent in 2010.

The increase in higher education job openings in Q3 2011 is moderate compared to the 63.2 percent growth rate the year before. Job postings from colleges and universities surged during much of 2010 as institutions recovered from the steep decline in hiring that occurred during the recent recession.

In addition, analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data by HigherEdJobs found that the number of actual jobs in higher education rose 2.5 percent in Q3 2011 compared to growth of 3.8 percent a year earlier. Higher education jobs represented about 1.2 percent of all non-farm jobs in the U.S. economy during Q3 2011; up from about 1.1 percent in 2009.

The report examines job posting data from colleges and universities that have been continuously subscribed to the company's unlimited posting plan for four years or longer, a cohort of over 700 schools, as well as data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

HigherEdJobs is the leading source for jobs and career information in academia. During 2010, more than 4,250 colleges and universities posted over 79,000 faculty, administrative and executive job postings to the company's website. HigherEdJobs receives 1,000,000 unique visitors a month. HigherEdJobs is published by Internet Employment Linkage, Inc. and is headquartered in State College, PA.

To view the complete report, go to: http://www.higheredjobs.com/career/quarterly-report.cfm

SOURCE HigherEdJobs