Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Higher Education Employment Increases in Q2 2017 But Not at Community Colleges

  • 12/29/17

STATE COLLEGE, PA – According to HigherEdJobs, the leading job and career site for higher education professionals, the total number of jobs in higher education increased during Q2 2017 by the largest second quarter amount in five years.

According to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data by HigherEdJobs, higher education employment increased 0.8 percent, or roughly 29,900 jobs, during the second quarter. This was the largest second quarter increase since Q2 2012 when it increased by essentially the same amount. Public and private institutions experienced similar percentage job growth but public institutions saw a larger increase in the number of jobs because they employ almost twice as many people.  Meanwhile, community colleges lost more than 12,500 jobs, or 1.8 percent, in Q2 2017, the 14th consecutive month of year-over-year quarterly job losses for this type of academic institution.

Even though the number of jobs increased in higher education, job postings for open positions at colleges and universities were down during the second quarter, decreasing 1.9 percent compared to the year before. Although this was the second consecutive quarter that job postings decreased, it was not as severe and considered an improvement from the immediately previous quarter's decline of 4.5 percent. The Q2 2017 decline was driven by decreases in postings for full-time faculty and administrative positions and was geographically broad-based. However, postings for part-time faculty and administrative positions both increased and at a slightly higher rate during Q2 2017 than in Q1 2017.

The report analyzes the most current data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and HigherEdJobs' posting trends from roughly 880 colleges and universities that have continuously subscribed to the company's unlimited posting plan for four years. The full report can be viewed here.

HigherEdJobs® is the leading source for jobs and career information in academia. During 2016, 5,400 colleges and universities posted more than 215,000 faculty, administrative, and executive job postings to the company's website, which receives 1.5 million unique visitors a month. HigherEdJobs is published by Internet Employment Linkage, Inc. and is headquartered in State College, PA.

Featured

  • Q&A: How to Prevent Kitchen Grease Fires in Commercial Kitchens

    School cafeterias and university dining halls serve thousands of meals daily, relying on high-heat equipment like fryers, grills, and ovens. While these operations keep students fed, they also generate significant grease-laden vapors. Without proper controls, this grease becomes a silent fire threat. As a certified exhaust cleaning specialist and business coach who has helped hundreds of institutional facilities achieve NFPA 96 compliance, I emphasize that proactive grease management isn’t optional; it’s a core fire/life safety practice.

  • GeoCam and UCLA: Modernizing Campus Accessibility Mapping

    In early 2025, UCLA partnered with GeoCam to capture and modernize its pedestrian infrastructure data. The goal was ambitious but clear: to produce a high-accuracy, imagery-backed digital map of every sidewalk, pathway, ramp, and ADA-related feature on UCLA’s 419-acre campus.

  • Minnesota District Converts Middle School into Community Hub

    White Bear Lake Area Schools in White Bear Lake, Minn., recently announced the end of a major renovation project that converted a former middle school into a new centralized district and community hub, according to a news release.

  • Nashville Elementary School Receives LEED Gold Certification

    Goodlettsville Elementary School, part of Metro Nashville Public Schools in Nashville, Tenn., recently achieved LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), according to a news release. The 81,750-square-foot school opened in 2023 and was designed by Goodwyn Mills Cawood (GMC).