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

  • California High School Opens New Classroom Building for 7th-, 8th-Graders

    Santa Rosa City Schools in Santa Rosa, Calif., recently announced the completion of a new classroom building for Piner High School. As the campus transitions to a Junior/Senior High School, the facility will play home to the school’s new population of seventh- and eighth-grade students.

  • Wyoming District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

    Laramie County School District #1 in Cheyenne, Wy., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the upcoming Mountain View Elementary School, according to a news release. The facility has an estimated completion date of summer 2028, and it will have the capacity for 650 students in fifth and sixth grade.

  • Haws Corporation Marks 120th Anniversary

    Haws Corporation, which provides hydration and emergency safety solutions worldwide, recently announced that the company is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year, according to a news release.

  • URI Cuts Underwater Ribbon on New Ocean Robotics Laboratory

    The University of Rhode Island recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Ocean Robotics Laboratory at its Narragansett Bay Campus, according to a news release. Two students used a remotely operated vehicle to cut an underwater ribbon in a 30-by-20-foot test tank.