Higher Education Employment Recedes in Q2 2013

STATE COLLEGE, Pa., Aug. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The number of jobs in higher education decreased incrementally in Q2 2013 for the second consecutive quarter.  Meanwhile, the number of advertisements for job openings in higher education continued to grow, but more slowly, according to a just released report from HigherEdJobs^®, the leading source for jobs and career information in academia. (http://www.higheredjobs.com/career/quarterly-report.cfm)

An analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data by HigherEdJobs finds the total number of jobs in higher education was down 0.6 percent in Q2 2013, which was the second consecutive quarter that higher education jobs have declined after several years of stable growth throughout the recession. This period also marks the third quarter in a row that the overall U.S. job growth rate surpassed the growth rate for higher education jobs.  As a result, the percentage of U.S. jobs that are in higher education was lower in Q2 2013 by 0.03 percent compared to the same quarter a year earlier.

Despite declining numbers of jobs in higher education, the number of advertisements for job openings in academia continued to increase, but at a slowing rate of growth, suggesting that institutions are likely not resorting to large, wholesale layoffs but are probably not refilling some positions as they become vacant or are postponing hiring replacements. According to data from HigherEdJobs, a pattern of uniform and stable employment in higher education has emerged recently with only slight changes occurring in different categories of job postings including part-time compared to full-time, faculty compared to administrators, as well as regional job posting trends.

The report, which also includes annual recaps, analyzes job posting data from colleges and universities that have continuously subscribed to the company's unlimited posting plan for four years, a group of more than 850 schools, as well as data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

HigherEdJobs is the leading source for jobs and career information in academia. During 2012, more than 5,350 colleges and universities posted over 117,000 faculty, administrative, and executive job postings to the company's website, which receives over 1,000,000 unique visitors a month. HigherEdJobs is published by Internet Employment Linkage, Inc. and is headquartered in State College, Pa.

SOURCE HigherEdJobs