Class of 2015: Top US Industries for Recent Graduates

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January
March 2015 1
2014 1
March 2015
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Class of 2015: Top US Industries
for Recent Graduates
By Omar Khedr, exclusively for the ACRL conference
Based on employment, wages and revenue, IBISWorld has narrowed
down the top nine industries for recent college graduates.
College
graduates are
more likely
to secure
employment
opportunities
than nondegree
applicants
With graduation right around the
corner, millions of young Americans are
preparing to enter the workforce.
According to the National Center for
Education Statistics, postsecondary
institutions are expected to confer an
estimated 1.8 million bachelor’s degrees
in 2015. If associate degrees are
included, the number of total graduates
will extend to about 2.8 million, up from
2.6 million in 2010.
While about one-quarter of new
graduates will pursue postgraduate
studies, the majority will likely seek
employment immediately following
graduation. Statistically, job prospects for
young graduates are stronger than they
were five years ago, reflecting the
stronger state of the national economy.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
points out that the unemployment rate in
January 2015 for those with a bachelor’s
degree or higher stood at 2.9%, compared
with 5.1% in January 2010. Furthermore,
college graduates today are far more
likely to secure employment
opportunities than nondegree applicants.
The overall US unemployment rate stood
out at 5.7% in January 2015, which was
nearly 3.0% higher than the
unemployment rate among college
graduates. Students that majored in
STEM fields (science, technology,
engineering and mathematics) are
typically best positioned to earn high
wages, while graduates with nontechnical
degrees generally experience higher
unemployment rates.
Using its database of more than 700
industries, IBISWorld narrowed down
the top nine industries for new graduates
in 2015. These industries are
characterized by strong employment
growth, high average wages and
increasing revenue. Technological
advancements, new regulations and
growing demand from emerging
economies are three main factors
contributing to the positive outlooks for
these industries.
Unemployment rate by college major*
Major
Recent Experienced
College
College
Graduates Graduates
Communications and Journalism
7.8%
6.0%
Computer and Mathematics
9.1%
7.4%
6.1%
7.3%
4.8%
4.4%
2.6%
6.9%
Engineering
Health
Business
*2014-15 Estimates (latest data available)
SOURCE: GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
www.ibisworld.com | 1-800-330-3772 | info @ibisworld.com
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March 2015 2
Class of 2015: Top US Industries for Recent Graduates
Industry: Accounting Services
Projected revenue growth*: 3.4% per year
on average
Projected employment growth*: 3.0% per
year on average
Average industry wage (2015): $67,474
Occupations: Accountant and Auditor;
Bookkeeping, Accounting and Auditing
Clerk; Financial Manager
Industry: Software Publishing
Projected revenue growth*: 3.1% per year
on average
Projected employment growth*: 2.2% per
year on average
Average industry wage (2015): $147,274
Occupations: Software Engineer; Software
Developer; Computer Programmer;
Smartphone App Developer
The Accounting Services industry
presents a stable field for recent
graduates, especially for accountants
and auditors who will go on to earn
statutory titles, such as Certified Public
Accountant (CPA). The industry is
closely tied to the health of the overall
economy, which has been accelerating
in recent years. Supporting this growth
has been accommodative interest rates,
as well as an increase in business loan
originations from banks. In the five
years to 2014, data from the Federal
Reserve reveals that commercial banks
have increased the total value of their
commercial and industrial loans at an
annualized rate of 10.8%, which has
enabled business expansion and
widened demand for accounting
services. Industry operators will also
benefit from businesses seeking to
comply with stricter laws and
regulations within the financial sector,
thereby increasing the importance of
audits. Furthermore, rising
globalization will lead to more crossborder corporate deals that require
expertise in US accounting standards.
Computer software will remain in high
demand over the next five years, as the
number of households with at least one
computer rises to almost 88.4% and
private investment in technology
increases, benefiting recent graduates
seeking to enter the field. Constantly
improving technology and falling
hardware prices will also make
computers, smart phones, video games
and, subsequently, software, increasingly
accessible. Mobile technology will
especially benefit as mobile devices
become essential to streamlining people’s
day-to-day functions, particularly with
regard to communication, entertainment
and making transactions. In the five
years to 2020, the number of mobile
internet connections is expected to
increase at an annualized rate of 4.6%. In
turn, the number of mobile apps has
been rising exponentially. For instance,
the number of applications available in
the iOS App Store reached 1.2 million in
June 2014, up from 900,000 apps in
June 2013. This upward trend in mobile
app development is expected to continue.
Consequently, there will be a sharp rise
Unemployment Rate (25 years and older)
Education Level
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Bachelor’s Degree and Higher
5.1%
4.5%
4.4%
3.9%
3.3%
2.9%
9.0%
11.5%
17.6%
8.5%
10.7%
16.5%
7.5%
9.5%
15.0%
7.3%
9.1%
13.9%
6.3%
7.3%
11.1%
5.6%
6.1%
9.9%
Some College or Associate Degree
High School Graduates, No College
Less than a High School Diploma
SOURCE: BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
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March 2015 3
Class of 2015: Top US Industries for Recent Graduates
in demand for qualified graduates from
smartphone app developers. In fact, in
the five years to 2020, IBISWorld
anticipates that employment among
smartphone app developers will increase
at an annualized 37.6% rate, reaching
2.9 million workers. Although some
employment opportunities will be
threatened by outsourcing to low-cost
countries, offshoring will likely be
limited as software developers strongly
benefit from being in close proximity to
their customers, designers and
entrepreneurial ecosystems.
expects that the value of the S&P 500
stock index, a commonly cited indicator
of stock market performance, will
increase at an annualized rate of 12.8%.
Additionally, high-net-worth
individuals have witnessed a steady
increase in their disposable income
over the past five years, providing them
with more flexibility to undertake
additional investments. As a result,
employment growth for stock brokers
and other financial instruments linked
to equity markets are expected to be
particularly robust.
Industry: Investment Banking
& Securities Dealing
Projected revenue growth*: 2.9% per year
on average
Projected employment growth*: 2.0% per
year on average
Average industry wage (2015): $342,360
Occupations: Investment Banking
Associate; Financial/Securities/Investment
Analyst; Fund Accountant
Industry: Public Relations Firms
Projected revenue growth*: 2.9% per year
on average
Projected employment growth*: 2.5% per
year on average
Average industry wage (2015): $92,269
Occupations: Public Relations Specialist;
Account Manager; Communications
Manager
The Investment Banking and Securities
Dealing industry has experienced
significant volatility over the past five
years. Until 2012, overall industry
employment was still contracting due in
part to increased government oversight;
however, the industry has since
recovered much of its lost ground and
offers some of the most lucrative job
prospects for recent college graduates.
The United States remains the world’s
premier international financial center,
meaning that global economic growth
will contribute to rising employment
within US investment banks and
securities dealers. In fact, since 2013,
accelerating business activity and
corporate profit have boosted demand
for investment banking services, such
as underwriting and corporate advisory.
In the five years to 2015, IBISWorld
As public image, online communications
and transparency become more
important in the eyes of consumers in the
digital age, companies will increasingly
hire public relations professionals to keep
their image clean and positive. Graduates
experienced in digital media and online
content marketing will especially benefit
from growing demand for this industry’s
services. Businesses in all sectors will
increasingly use social media platforms
as a relatively low-cost and powerful
marketing tool to extend their audience
reach. Social media also enables
businesses to study target markets and
analyze consumer trends to increase
brand awareness on a real-time basis.
These factors will be increasingly
important over the next five years as
customer segments become more
fragmented and the social media industry
rapidly expands.
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Class of 2015: Top US Industries for Recent Graduates
Industry: Engineering Services
Projected revenue growth*: 3.8% per year
on average
Projected employment growth*: 3.5% per
year on average
Average industry wage (2015): $87,246
Occupations: Civil Engineer; Mechanical
Engineer; Project Engineer; Surveyor
The Engineering Services industry is
expected to hire thousands of new
graduates over the next five years as
business confidence increases and
companies commit to large projects that
require engineering services. With
interest rates at accommodative levels,
private investment in engineering
projects will likely strengthen as more
office buildings, factories and public
structures are built, requiring highly
educated engineers. In fact, in the five
years to 2020, IBISWorld expects the
value of private nonresidential
construction to increase at an annualized
rate of 4.0%, supporting new
construction growth. Additionally,
projects that were delayed over the past
five years due to a lack of government
funding will need to be completed in
order to build and maintain critical
infrastructure. To this point, IBISWorld
expects that local and state government
investment will increase at an annualized
rate of 0.6% in the five years to 2020. In
particular, federal, state and local
funding for infrastructure related to
power generation, sewage lines and
treatment and water supply
infrastructure will likely pick up over the
next five years. Furthermore, as
renewable energy projects such as
onshore and offshore large-scale wind
projects increase, demand for civil
engineers will also grow. Additionally,
more companies will likely cut costs to
focus on their core competencies by
contracting engineering services rather
than directly employing engineers,
boosting employment growth in the
Engineering Services industry.
Industry: Hospitals
Projected revenue growth*:
3.9% per year on average
Projected employment growth*:
0.8% per year on average
Average industry wage (2015): $66,567
Occupations: Registered Nurse;
Laboratory Technologist; Physical
Therapist; Physician Assistant
Offering a large range of career options,
the Hospitals industry is a popular
destination for college graduates. The
aging US population and expanding
access to public and private health
insurance will create thousands of
new job openings in the healthcare
services sector over the next five years.
Additionally, access to healthcare
coverage will significantly expand due
to the Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act (PPACA). Furthermore, the
aging baby boomer generation will cause
Medicare’s largest group of contributors
to rapidly become the greatest users
of healthcare in coming years. As
people age, they generally require more
medical care, and IBISWorld expects
the number of individuals aged 65 and
older to increase an average annual
3.2% over the next five years, to reach
56.0 million people. With an increased
demand for services, hospitals will need
to increase their work force to properly
meet this demand. As a result, job
growth is expected to be particularly
strong in facilities that provide care for
elderly patients with chronic conditions
such as arthritis, dementia, diabetes,
Alzheimer’s and obesity, as well as
long-term rehabilitation for strokes.
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March 2015 5
Class of 2015: Top US Industries for Recent Graduates
Industry: Management Consulting
Project revenue growth*: 3.6%
Projected employment growth*: 3.0%
Average industry wage (2015): 58,702
Occupations: Management
Consultant Associate; Strategy
Consultant; Research Consultant
Management consultants provide
advisory services to businesses, nonprofits
and public sector agencies to assist in
organizational design, corporate strategy,
information technology strategy, marketing
and sales and logistics. Over the past five
years, the industry has enjoyed continued
success as stronger corporate profitability
and increasing business expenditure
resulted in higher demand for advisory
services. This, in turn, has increased
demand for qualified college graduates
from industry operators. Generally,
businesses hire consultants to help boost
profitability and shield them from future
risk through new organizational structure,
as well as focusing on developing profitable
business areas. Consequently, this industry
attracts college students that have majors
in business, economics and mathematics.
Certain niche operators also seek out
graduates with specific expertise in
subject areas like biology and life sciences.
Looking towards the next five years,
IBISWorld expects demand for qualified
graduates to increase as corporate profit
and overall business activity picks up.
Industry: Semiconductor &
Circuit Manufacturing
Projected revenue growth*:
3.2% per year on average
Projected employment growth*:
-0.9% per year on average
Average industry wage (2015): $93,167
Occupations: Electrical Engineer;
Manufacturing Engineer; Mechanical
Engineer; Sales Engineer
While employment for the Semiconductor
and Circuit Manufacturing industry is
expected to slightly decline over the next
five years, the industry’s high wages
and growing downstream demand
make it an attractive option for recent
college graduates. Operators in this
industry manufacture a spectrum of
core components used in electronic
devices, including capacitors, resistors
and microprocessors. Demand for
advanced wireless consumer electronics,
such as smartphones, will continue to
drive industry growth over the next five
years. The rapid pace of technological
change and innovation of consumer
electronics will likely continue, requiring
huge investments in research and
development by highly educated and
versatile engineers. In fact, in the five
years to 2020, IBISWorld expects that
private investment in computers will
increase at an annualized rate of 4.5%
reaching $812.1 million. Furthermore,
mobile data traffic is expected to quickly
expand over the next five years, largely
due to rapid growth in mobile video.
New technology, including chips that
can multicom (i.e. integrate existing
WiFi networks with mobile networks)
and machine-to-machine computing,
will continue to be developed, increasing
demand for advanced semiconductors.
Industry: Organic Chemical
Manufacturing
Projected revenue growth*:
3.2% per year on average
Projected employment growth*:
3.0% per year on average
Average industry wage (2015): $84,062
Occupations: Chemists and Materials
Scientist; Biotech Research Associate;
Research Scientist; Pharmaceutical
Sales Representative
Human resource, as well as research
and development jobs, in the Organic
Chemical Manufacturing industry are
expected to increase in coming years.
Over the next five years, growth in
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Class of 2015: Top US Industries for Recent Graduates
About IBISWorld Inc.
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downstream manufacturing industries
will support organic chemical
manufacturers, who produce basic
organic chemicals, industrial gases and
synthetic dyes and pigments for a range
of industrial uses. In particular, industry
operators will increase production
of plastic and paint to meet growing
demand from the construction sector,
as the number of housing starts is
anticipated to climb 6.8% per year on
average over the five years to 2020.
Furthermore, the industry will also
experience a rise in demand from
markets that will increase purchases
as consumer spending widens, such
as cosmetic and beauty products
manufacturing, In the five years to
2020, IBISWorld expects that consumer
spending will increase at an annualized
rate of 2.6%. Alongside growing domestic
demand, international demand for
organic chemicals will continue to rise
as chemical manufacturing companies
focus on diversifying to suit international
markets. The drive to produce more
affordable, safer and environmentally
friendly materials of high quality will be
critical to industry performance, while
industry manufacturers will benefit from
the lower cost of energy and raw inputs,
as domestic natural production increases.
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