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

  • Charles R. Drew University Opens Health Professions Education Building

    Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) has officially opened its new Health Professions Education Building (HPEB) in South Los Angeles.

  • Campus Safety Requires Using Every Resource Available

    Across the U.S., school and campus leaders are facing a security landscape that has changed dramatically over the past decade. Incidents on school property have increased in recent years, with several consecutive years setting record totals. According to analysis of data by CNN, dozens of shootings now occur on school grounds annually across K-12 and higher education environments.

  • Colorado School District Breaks Ground on Unified PK–12 Campus

    The Haxtun School District No. Re-2J in Haxtun, Colo., recently announced that ground has been broken on a renovation/addition project that will unite its two schools, Haxtun Elementary and Haxtun Jr/Sr High School, according to a news release.

  • Baton Rouge Center for Visual and Performing Arts

    Baton Rouge Center for Visual and Performing Arts

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The Baton Rouge Center for Visual and Performing Arts has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.