Jobs for most '81 college grads

The job market for this year's college seniors will be about the same as for last years; about 90 percent willhave jobs when they graduate, a national survey by Michigan State University shows.

MSU placement director Jack Shingleton, who surveyed 562 public and private-sector employers, said engineers and others with technical training are still most in demand and claim the highest starting salaries. Students with social science and liberal arts degrees are more likely to have to wait for jobs and accept lower salaries when they get them.

Mr. Shingleton said starting salaries will average just over $15,000 -- an increase of about 6 percent from those offered last spring. About the same number of jobs will be available as last year, but since they will be visiting more campuses, recruiters are likely to be a bit more selective, he said. Also, there are about 10,000 more graduates this year, he noted.

The impact of the recession has been "minimal as far as college graduates are concerned," Mr. Shingleton said. The market "will be about the same as last year, and last year was really not a bad year."