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

  • school building with glowing circuit board patterns

    AI Is Coming to Schools — But Most School Buildings Still Run on Institutional Memory

    As school districts race to introduce AI into classrooms, administration, and curriculum planning, another conversation is happening behind the scenes: How prepared are school facilities themselves for the operational demands AI will create?

  • California District Debuts New High-School CTE Center

    The West Sonoma County Union High School District (WSCUHSD) in Sebastopol, Calif., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new CTE Center at Analy High School, according to a news release. The district partnered with Quattrocchi Kwok Architects (QKA) for the facility’s design and GCCI for its construction, and funding came from local Measure A bond funds.

  • UNH Marks Construction Milestone on Oceanic Exploration Facility

    The University of New Hampshire in Durham, N.H., recently celebrated a major construction milestone with a beam-signing ceremony for the new Center of Excellence for Operational Ocean and Great Lakes Mapping, according to a news release. The facility’s ultimate goal is to support research, training and technical assistance in ocean mapping.

  • University of Washington Opens New Broadcast Studio

    The University of Washington in Seattle, Wash., recently announced the opening of Sundodger Studios, a new broadcast, production, and content facility, according to a news release. The university partnered with Anthony James Partners for the design and development of the studio, which will host about 100 live broadcasts and 120 live videoboard shows per year.