Spotlight for Career Services Professionals
Spotlight for Recruiting Professionals
November 7, 2012 

While the percentage of employers with plans to increase starting salaries to bachelor’s degree graduates from the Class of 2013 has dipped slightly this year, the percentage of employers expecting to offer signing bonuses has bumped up, according to NACE’s Job Outlook 2013 report.

The percentage of employers with plans to increase starting salaries to bachelor’s degree graduates decreased from 54.4 percent last year to 51.9 percent this year. (See Figure 1.)

Among the respondents who provided a valid increase for their bachelor’s degree starting salaries, the overall average is 3.7 percent. This is up from last year’s projected increase of 3.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the percentage of employers planning to offer signing bonuses has increased. More than 48 percent of respondents—representing the highest percentage since 2008-09—have plans to offer signing bonuses to selected Class of 2013 graduates.

During the 2010-11 recruiting year, 45.8 percent of respondents had plans to offer signing bonuses; of these, just 46.1 percent actually did. Last year, when 45 percent of responding organizations planned to offer signing bonuses to Class of 2012 graduates, nearly 53 percent followed through with their plans. (See Figure 2.)

Figure 1: Employers with plans to increase starting salaries to bachelor’s degree graduates 

Source: Job Outlook 2013, National Association of Colleges and Employers

Figure 2: Employers offering signing bonuses 

Source: Job Outlook 2013, National Association of Colleges and Employers

The Job Outlook 2013 survey was conducted July 25 through September 10, 2012, among NACE employer members; 244, or 25.2 percent, took part. The report is available to NACE members at www.naceweb.org/Research/Job_Outlook/Job_Outlook.aspx.  

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