Higher Education Employment Growth Slows in Q3 2017

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 Q3 2017, but by the smallest third quarter amount since 2014.

According to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data by HigherEdJobs, higher education employment increased 0.3 percent, or roughly 10,200 jobs, during the third quarter. This was the one of the smallest third quarter increases in higher education jobs in ten years. Although public colleges and universities have more than 930,000 more jobs than private institutions, public schools added only 3,300 jobs, or 0.14 percent, in Q3 2017 from Q3 2016, while private schools added about 6,900 jobs, or about 0.50 percent. Meanwhile, community colleges lost about 9,020 jobs, or 1.4 percent, during Q3 2017 from Q3 2016, the 15th consecutive decline for this group. Since Q4 2013, community colleges have contracted by almost 150,000 jobs, or 19.3 percent.

Despite the increase in jobs in higher education, the number of job postings for open positions in academia declined 0.7 percent in Q3 2017, only the second time this metric has declined since at least 2014, regardless of quarter. The decline in Q3 2017 higher education job postings was driven by decreases for both full-time faculty and full-time administrative positions and was geographically widespread with a few exceptions. Meanwhile, postings for part-time faculty and part-time administrative positions both increased during Q3 2017. Despite the recent decrease in full-time faculty job postings and increase in part-time faculty job postings, postings for full-time faculty still outnumbered postings for part-time faculty two-to-one.

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 at www.higheredjobs.com/career/quarterly-report.cfm.

HigherEdJobs® is the leading source for jobs and career information in academia. During 2017, 5,400 colleges and universities posted more than 223,500 faculty, administrative, and executive job postings to the company's website, which receives 1.4 million unique visitors a month. HigherEdJobs is published by Internet Employment Linkage, Inc. and is headquartered in State College, PA.

Featured

  • Minnesota Middle School Finishes $23.5M Addition and Modernization

    Highland Park Middle School in St. Paul, Minn., recently announced the completion of a $23.5-million addition and remodel project, according to a news release. Saint Paul Public Schools partnered with ATS&R Planners, Architects & Engineers for its design and Kraus-Anderson for its construction.

  • New Arizona Fine Arts School Reaches Construction Milestone

    Construction of the new Hilltop School for the Arts and Theater in Litchfield Park, Ariz., recently hit a significant milestone, according to a news release. The Agua Fria High School District held a beam-signing ceremony to celebrate the building’s topping out, or the placement of its last structural beam.

  • Hawaii Elementary School Breaks Ground on New Classroom Building

    Kealakehe Elementary School in Kailua, Hawaii, recently began construction on a new, $16-million classroom building for its campus, according to a news release. The 13,000-square-foot building will stand two stories and connect the existing upper and lower campuses.

  • LSU Breaks Ground on $200M Residential Project

    Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, La., recently broke ground on a new residential complex, according to university news. The South Quad residential project will consist of two buildings and add a total of 1,266 beds for freshmen students. The development comes with a price tag of $200 million, and it’s scheduled to open to students in fall 2027.