US Financial Services Jobs Among Most in Demand by Graduates

28 Sep 2006

As members of the Class of 2006 settle into their first full-time professional jobs, and current college students ponder what major to declare, MonsterTRAK today announced the hottest occupations for recent graduates. MonsterTRAK is the student division of Monster®, the leading global online careers and recruitment resource, and flagship brand of Monster Worldwide, Inc.

Based on the number of entry-level job opportunities posted to MonsterTRAK during the 2005/2006 academic year, the top occupations are:

#1 – Business Operations, HR and Financial Services. The most popular jobs in this category include those specific to accounting, financial analysis and research, human resource and labor relations, and management and administration.
#2 – Sales and Marketing. Reflecting an improving labor market, entry-level opportunities in sales and marketing related occupations grew by 39 percent year-over-year.
#3 – Office, Administrative and Customer Support. Administrative assistants and call center workers were most in demand.
#4 – Architecture and Engineering. Electrical and mechanical engineers were most sought-after among employers hiring in this category.
#5 – Computer, Information Technology and Mathematical. Among jobs in this category, entry-level programmers saw the greatest online recruitment activity.

“The top five entry-level occupations largely reflect what we are seeing in the overall labor market. The Monster Employment Index, which tracks online recruitment across more than 1,500 websites, demonstrates strong year-over-year growth in online demand for white-collar professionals,” said Julie Goldthwait, Vice President and General Manager, MonsterTRAK. “Demand for those in management, business and financial services, and IT continues to rise – and that increasing recruitment activity clearly extends to entry-level positions, which is great news for recent college graduates and those entering their senior year.”

In the number one occupational category for the 2005/2006 academic year – business operations, HR and financial services – accounting and auditing related job postings were among the most prevalent, comprising approximately one-fifth of all opportunities in the category.

“There are tremendous opportunities for students interested in pursing a career in accounting. Because there is such a demand for talent in our industry, our goal is to attract and retain the most dynamic graduates by giving them training experiences and opportunities for advancement that they will not find elsewhere,” said Amy Van Kirk, national campus recruiting director for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.