Seniors graduating this May are projected to have better luck in the job market than their peers did last May.The “Job Outlook 2010 Spring Update” report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that employers plan to hire 5.3 percent more newly graduated college students this year than last year.College hiring has decreased since October 2008 because of the recession, according to the report. In NACE’s 2009 Spring Update, employers reported hiring nearly 22 percent fewer college graduates in spring 2009 than they did in spring 2008.”Employers are still behind [in hiring numbers] to where they were in 2008,” said Sara Crow, LSU Career Services assistant director for communications. “Obviously, with such a significant decrease last year, it’s good to see improvement. That’s an indication of a strengthening economy.”Crow said job availability and the economy seem to be interrelated because of how the economy affects businesses. She said when companies have less operational revenue, they often decide not to hire more employees or fill empty positions. “The pendulum has swung,” she said. “A couple of years ago, students got to pick what job they wanted, but now employers have their pick of what students to hire.”Hiring of college graduates in the Northeast was affected the most in the 2008-09 year, decreasing by 38.9 percent from the previous 2007-08 year, according to the report.But this year, the projected number of hires in the Northeast increased the most out of the four regions, up 25.5 percent from the 2008-09 year.The Southeast is the only region reporting a decrease in projected hiring of college graduates. In 2008-09, the Southeast, including Louisiana, hired 4,279 college graduates, but this year, the projected number of hires is 3,849 — a 10 percent decrease. Crow said soon-to-be University graduates won’t necessarily have a harder time getting hired just because NACE’s report shows a decrease in hiring in the Southeast region, which includes Louisiana.”Louisiana has come out as one of the top states not experiencing much of an impact from the recession,” Crow said. “If you were in the Northeast last year with a large drop, improvement over the next year is dramatic because of where you came from. The Southeast may not have been hit as hard as other regions last year.”Crow said NACE’s report is just a snapshot of projected hiring in the nation, which doesn’t mean the results are applicable to the University.”I don’t think new graduates should feel worried that jobs aren’t going to be available to them,” she said. “There’s always a need for entry-level employment. The job search is a competitive process.”Kristen Dufauchard, mass communication senior, said she’s been looking for a job since the beginning of her senior year and is worried about getting hired.”I want to go out of state,” she said. “It makes me more hopeful that regions outside Louisiana have reported they want more graduates.”Not all students are as hopeful.Colin Ryan, religious studies senior, said he’s going to law school because he’s not optimistic about the job market.”I’ve heard it’s still hard to get a job,” he said. D’yonne Jones, sociology senior, said she’s pushed back her graduation date to avoid the job market and minor in an additional subject, which she said will make her more marketable when she figures out what she wants to do.—-Contact Mary Walker Baus at [email protected]