Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Public Higher Ed Employment Outperforms Private in Q4 2016 While Job Postings Decline

  • 06/29/17

STATE COLLEGE, PA – The total number of jobs in higher education decreased incrementally in 2016 as public institutions outperformed private institutions, according to HigherEdJobs, the leading job and career site for higher education professionals.

According to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data by HigherEdJobs, higher education employment decreased 0.1 percent, or roughly 5,900 jobs, during the fourth quarter. This is the first decrease in higher education employment for the fourth quarter since at least 2010. The decline was driven by employment losses at private colleges and universities, which lost about 10,300 jobs, representing a 0.7 percent decline in private sector higher education jobs. Meanwhile, public colleges and universities added 4,500 jobs, a 0.2 percent increase, in public sector higher education jobs during the fourth quarter.

Job postings for open positions at colleges and universities were also down during the fourth quarter, decreasing 4.1 percent compared to the year before. The decline in higher education job postings was distributed throughout most types of job postings, although some types of administrative and executive postings experienced incremental growth. Annually, the total number of advertisements for job postings in academia increased 7.6 percent in 2016, the slowest annual growth since at least 2013.

The report analyzes the most current data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and HigherEdJobs' posting trends from roughly 850 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 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

  • University of Illinois Moves Forward with College Sports’ Largest Digital Scoreboard

    The University of Illinois in Champaign, Ill., recently announced a series of upgrades to Gies Memorial Stadium that will include the largest scoreboard in college sports, according to a news release.

  • Preparing for the Next Era of Healthcare Education, Innovation

    Across the country, public universities and community colleges are accelerating investments in healthcare education facilities as part of a broader strategy to address workforce shortages, modernize outdated infrastructure, and expand clinical training capacity. These projects, which are often located at the center of campus health and science districts, are no longer limited to traditional classrooms.

  • NWEA Report Recommends K–12 Natural Disaster Recovery Strategies

    The Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), a K–12 assessment and research organization, recently announced the release of a new playbook for schools and communities recovering from extreme weather events, according to a news release.

  • Photo credit - Chuck Coates

    Florida District Modernizes Central Energy Plants at Two High Schools

    Flagler Schools, a public school district in Flagler County, Fla., recently partnered with Matern Professional Engineering to modernize the central energy plants at two of its high schools, according to a news release. The project is part of a larger, district-wide effort to reduce energy costs and operational expenses.