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Higher Education Employment Grows in Q4 2018

  • 07/16/19

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.

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