Higher Education Employment Grows in Q4 2018

STATE COLLEGE, PA – According to a new report from HigherEdJobs, the leading job and career site for higher education professionals, the total number of jobs in higher education increased during Q4 2018 at both private and public institutions.

According to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data by HigherEdJobs, higher education employment increased by 0.5 percent, or roughly 21,900 jobs, during the fourth quarter of 2018. On an annual basis, higher education jobs increased by 0.4 percent in 2018, after increasing by 0.6 percent in 2017. However, employment at community colleges was down for the fifth consecutive year.

Roughly 63 percent of all higher education jobs were at public institutions compared to 37 percent at private organizations, ratios which remained unchanged in 2017 and 2018. However, public institutions only generated 13.1 percent, or about 1,980, of Q4 2018 job growth while private institutions were responsible for 86.9 percent, or about 13,100 more jobs.

The number of job postings for higher education positions increased by 8.1 percent in Q4 2018 and 10.4 percent annually in 2018, compared to a 6.7 percent increase in Q4 2017 and 3.0 percent annually in 2017. And although private institutions generated almost 90 percent of the employment growth in Q4 2018, they generated less than one-third of the job postings in Q4 2018. This is likely because total employment at private institutions is also about one-third of all higher education employment.

On a more granular level, job postings for full-time faculty positions were up while postings for part-time faculty positions were down in both Q4 2018 as well as annually in 2018. This could be a result of a more stable and predictable enrollment environment helping administrators and executives better plan for future curriculum staffing needs.

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 here.

About HigherEdJobs
HigherEdJobs® is the leading source for jobs and career information in academia. During 2018, 5,300 colleges and universities posted more than 256,500 faculty, administrative, and executive job postings to the company's website, which receives 1.5 million unique visitors a month.

Featured

  • Wisconsin District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

    The School District of La Crosse in La Crosse, Wis., recently broke ground on a new elementary school that will consolidate the students and staff of two existing schools, according to local news. Funding for the school comes from a $53-million referendum approved in 2024.

  • University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Launches New Emergency Communications System

    The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) recently deployed a new emergency notification and incident management system for its campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with 911Cellular to launch Safe@UTC, a smartphone app allowing university officials to communicate and respond during emergency situations.

  • Classical building columns display digital data streams

    The Campus Nervous System: Why Facilities Risk Is Now a Leadership Issue in Higher Education

    Facility performance now intersects with safety, compliance, on-campus experience, institutional reputation, and financial resilience. That places it firmly on the leadership agenda.

  • Wold Architects & Engineers Acquires VPS Architecture

    Full-service planning, architecture, and engineering firm Wold Architects & Engineers recently announced that it has acquired VPS Architecture, according to a news release. The move will help strengthen Wold’s education and public-sector design expertise, industries in which both companies have strong pre-existing ties and relationships.