Higher Education Employment Report

Transcription

1 Higher Education Employment Report Second Quarter 2017 / Published December 2017 Executive Summary The number of jobs in higher education increased 0.8 percent, or 29,900 jobs, during the second quarter of This was the largest second quarter increase in higher education jobs in five years. The growth was driven by similar rates of job growth at both private institutions and public colleges and universities. However, public institutions added about 1.6 times as many new jobs as private institutions due to their larger size in terms of employment. Meanwhile, the number of postings for open positions in higher education declined 1.9 percent in The decrease was less than the 4.5 percent decline during Q1 2017, which was the first decline in the number of job postings since at least Q The 2017 decline in higher education job postings is fully attributed to a decline in job postings for full-time openings for both faculty and non-faculty positions. Job postings for part-time faculty and nonfaculty positions both increased. As of the second quarter of 2017, analyses of U.S. Department of Labor / Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data on higher education employment as well as job posting trends with HigherEdJobs found: Despite declining enrollments, the number of jobs in higher education increased in 2017 by the largest second quarter increase in five years. Higher education job postings declined in 2017 for the second quarter in a row, but at a lesser rate, after several years of consecutive quarterly increases. The number of faculty and non-faculty job postings both declined in 2017, but improved from the immediately preceding quarter. The decline in job postings in 2017 was entirely driven by a decline in full-time job postings as the number of part-time job postings increased and at a greater rate than a year earlier. Job postings for full-time faculty and full-time administrators both declined in Meanwhile, postings for part-time faculty and part-time administrative positions increased at slightly faster rates than a year earlier. Job postings and employment at community colleges both declined during The Northeast was the only region that experienced an increase in higher education job postings in 2017, while the South experienced the largest percentage decline. Page 1

2 About HigherEdJobs HigherEdJobs is the leading source for jobs and career information in academia. The company s website, receives 1.5 million unique visitors a month. During 2016, roughly 5,400 colleges and universities posted 215,000 faculty, administrative, and executive job postings to HigherEdJobs. Founded in 1996, HigherEdJobs mission is to help higher education candidates and employers connect with one another to find their dream job, or employee, as quickly as possible with the least amount of effort. HigherEdJobs is published by Internet Employment Linkage, Inc. (IEL). IEL is headquartered in State College, Pa., and has an accounting and operations office in Oak Park, Ill. About this Report The HigherEdJobs Higher Education Employment Report, published quarterly, provides summary information about employment within the higher education community. The goal of the report is to help academic leaders and policymakers better appreciate the trends we are experiencing with employment. Those seeking jobs should also appreciate these same data. As background to some of the statistics we are reporting here, we define higher education employment to include all types of employment at four-year colleges and universities, two-year community colleges, and other types of higher educational training as well as trade schools, both public and private. Findings on jobs in higher education are based on data from the U.S. Department of Labor / Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), specifically the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. Except where indicated otherwise, findings on advertised job postings in higher education are based on posting data from non-profit U.S. colleges and universities that have been continually subscribed to the HigherEdJobs Unlimited Posting Plan since January 2013, a cohort of roughly 880 institutions. Each of the institutions included in this report has paid a flat fee for unlimited advertising and, consequently, has no financial deterrent to discourage it from posting any job opening on HigherEdJobs. The Higher Education Employment Report is produced by HigherEdJobs with critical analysis and expertise provided by Bruce Steinberg ( an independent employment researcher. SPECIAL TECHNICAL NOTICE: For higher education employment reports published prior to Q4 2016, data from BLS s monthly Current Employment Statistics program (CES) was utilized as the source for higher education employment counts. Starting with the Q report, BLS s Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages is used since it is more comprehensive, including all public and private institutions as well as two additional educational sectors. From Q forward, information about higher education jobs encompasses: colleges and universities; community colleges; business, computer, and management training institutions; as well as technical and trade schools. Page 2

3 Finding: Despite declining enrollments, the number of jobs in higher education increased in 2017 by the largest second quarter increase in five years. Higher Education Jobs Compared to All U.S. Jobs (Monthly) Source: HigherEdJobs, based on U.S. Department of Labor / Bureau of Labor Statistics data, which are subject to revisions. (Note: Yellow markers are June data and presented for ease of year-over-year comparison.) In 2017, higher education employment which comprises all jobs at public and private colleges and universities, community colleges, technical and trade schools, as well as business, computer, and management training schools for this analysis increased by 0.8 percent, or about 29,900 jobs. This was the largest second quarter increase since 2012 when it increased by essentially the same amount. A year earlier, in 2016, higher education jobs grew by only 0.1 percent, or 5,400 jobs. Higher education jobs represented 2.66 percent of all jobs during 2017, a metric that continues to trend downward, primarily because overall U.S. employment has been increasing at a faster rate. Year-Over-Year Percent Change in: Higher Education Jobs Total Overall Non-Farm Jobs Higher Education Jobs as Percent of All Jobs Year Annual Annual Source: HigherEdJobs analysis of U.S. Department of Labor / Public and private institutions experienced similar Bureau of Labor Statistics data. percentage job growth but public institutions saw a larger increase in the number of jobs because of their larger size. As a group, public institutions employ about 1.69 times as many people as private institutions. Employment at public institutions increased 0.76 percent in 2017 from 2016, or by about 18,400 jobs. Employment at private institutions increased 0.80 percent in 2017, or by about 11,500 jobs. Clearly, employment in academe is increasing and by the fastest pace since Q regardless of quarter. This seems to run counter to student enrollments, which have consistently declined from Spring 2017 back to at least Fall 2012 according to National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. However, data in this report as well as in recent HigherEdJobs reports, could indicate that the higher education employment increase is attributable to several parttime positions being substituted for a single full-time position. Page 3

4 Finding: Higher education job postings declined in 2017 for the second quarter in a row, but at a lesser rate, after several years of consecutive quarterly increases. HigherEdJobs' Compared to All Higher Education Jobs Sources: HigherEdJobs posting data from continuing unlimited posting subscribers; higher education jobs based upon HigherEdJobs analysis of U.S. Department of Labor / Bureau of Labor Statistics data. (Note: June data highlighted in yellow for ease of year-over-year comparisons.) The number of advertised job openings in academia declined 1.9 percent in 2017 after several consecutive years of double-digit second quarter increases. Additional examinations in this report show that the decline was driven by declines in job postings for both full-time faculty and administrative positions and was geographically broad-based with a few exceptions. Year Year-Over-Year Change (in Percent) Total Higher HigherEdJobs HigherEdJobs Education Jobs Annual Annual Total Higher Education Jobs Job postings predictably follow a somewhat seasonal pattern as institutions coordinate their hiring practices to meet the labor needs of their academic and semester calendars Sources: HigherEdJobs posting data from continuing unlimited posting subscribers; Higher education jobs based on HigherEdJobs analysis of U.S. Department of Labor / Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Specifically, the 1.9 percent decline for postings in 2017 from 2016 was an improvement from the 4.5 percent decline in the immediate previous Q from Q This improvement is expected to continue into at least Q based upon more granular examinations of monthly posting trends as well as the increasing overall employment at institutions that should generate more job openings and therefore the need for more job postings. As discussed later in this report, the trend of overall declining job postings is driven solely by a decrease in full-time postings for both academic as well as administrative positions. This may suggest that in an effort to control fixed costs college and university employers are reducing full-time personnel and relying more on part-time personnel for both major categories of positions. Page 4

5 Finding: The number of faculty and non-faculty job postings both declined in 2017, but improved from the immediately preceding quarter. Job Compared to and Executive Job Source: HigherEdJobs posting data from continuing unlimited posting subscribers. Although the number of administrative and executive job postings as well as faculty job postings both declined in 2017 from Q1 2017, both declined at a diminishing rate. and executive job postings had still been increasing but at a diminishing rate since 2016 and crossed into negative territory during Q By 2017, the rate of decline slowed. Specifically, administrative and executive job postings declined 2.3 percent in 2017, which was an improvement from the preceding Q decline of 4.4 percent. The growth rate for faculty postings waned in 2016 and then declined in Q Although growth rebounded slightly into positive territory in Q these postings declined in Q as well as during 2017, but at a lesser rate. job postings declined only 0.7 percent in 2017, an improvement from the immediately preceding Q decline of 5.0 percent. Year Positions Percent of Job That Were: Second Quarter and Executive Positions Positions Annual and Executive Positions Source: HigherEdJobs posting data from continuing unlimited posting subscribers. Though the number of faculty job postings was down in 2017, the ratio of faculty to administrative and executive job postings increased slightly. job postings represented 23.7 percent of all job postings during Q4 2017, up from 23.4 percent in However, the metric was still down compared to recent years 28.0 percent in 2015, 26.3 percent in 2014, and 27.9 percent in Although the declines in both faculty and non-faculty positions were weaker in 2017 than the immediately preceding Q1 2017, this trend may not continue. Growth for new positions in the immediate future may be for more non-faculty positions as the number of faculty positions continues to decline in order to manage aging as well as upgrading facilities and technology as well as manage increasing numbers of part-time faculty. Page 5

6 Finding: The decline in job postings in 2017 was entirely driven by a decline in full-time job postings as the number of part-time job postings increased and at a greater rate than a year earlier. Average Percentage of Part-Time Source: HigherEdJobs posting data from continuing unlimited posting subscribers. The decrease in all higher education job postings during 2017 was driven by a decline in job postings for full-time positions. The number of job postings for full-time positions declined 4.4 percent during 2017, which was an improvement from the 7.2 percent decline in the immediately preceding period of Q1 2017, but greater than the 1.3 percent decline observed in Q After several years of consistent growth, job postings for full-time positions have now declined year-over-year for three consecutive quarters Q to 2017, inclusive. In contrast, job postings for part-time positions in higher education increased 11.5 percent in 2017, slightly higher than the 10.6 percent increase observed a year earlier in 2016 but less than half the 24.4 percent increase in Although it may appear that academe is creating fewer full-time positions by adding more part-time positions to meet staffing challenges, the decline in postings for full-time positions could also be due to more current full-time employees not vacating their positions possibly due to not retiring or for other reasons. Average Percentage of Part-Time Change in Number of Part-Time Job (in Percent) Change in Number of Full-Time Job (in Percent) Source: HigherEdJobs posting data from continuing unlimited posting subscribers. Page 6

7 Finding: Job postings for full-time faculty and full-time administrators both declined in Meanwhile, postings for part-time faculty and parttime administrative positions increased at slightly faster rates than a year earlier. Portion of Job That Are Part-Time Source: HigherEdJobs posting data from continuing unlimited posting subscribers. Job postings for full-time faculty positions declined 5.4 percent during 2017 yearover-year. Although this decline is in contrast to the 2.7 percent increase a year earlier during 2016, this was less than half the 11.6 percent decline observed in the immediately preceding period of Q Meanwhile, job postings for part-time faculty positions increased 7.3 percent in 2017, which was a greater increase than the 6.7 percent observed a year earlier in However, the 7.3 percent increase during 2017 was more than half of the 15.3 percent increase observed in the immediately preceding period of Q for full-time administrative positions also decreased during 2017, declining 3.8 percent compared to the same period the year before when they increased 15.5 Year Detail of Full-Time Compared to Part-Time Job (in Percent) Annual Change Annual Change Annual Change Annual Change in Full-Time in Part-Time in Full-Time in Part-Time Year Change in Full-Time Change in Part-Time Annual Change in Full-Time Annual Change in Part-Time Source: HigherEdJobs posting data from continuing unlimited posting subscribers. percent during However, this was an improvement from the 5.7 percent decline during the immediately preceding Q for part-time administrative positions increased 17.0 percent during 2017, which was greater than the increase of 16.1 percent during the same period a year earlier as well as the 11.0 percent increase of the immediately preceding period of Q Page 7

8 Finding: Job postings and employment at community colleges both declined during Job and Employment at Community Colleges Sources: HigherEdJobs posting data from continuing unlimited posting subscribers; higher education jobs based on HigherEdJobs analysis of U.S. Department of Labor / Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The number of job postings at community colleges decreased in 2017 for the second consecutive quarter. Similarly, employment at community colleges was down 1.8 percent in 2017, the 14 th consecutive year-over-year quarterly decrease for this metric. Job postings for open positions at community colleges declined 5.1 percent in 2017, the second consecutive decline in this metric, which marginally decreased 0.2 percent in Q The decline in community college job postings during 2017 from a year earlier was broad-based. The sector had 4.1 percent fewer fulltime faculty postings, 3.1 percent fewer part-time faculty postings, and 8.0 percent fewer full-time Year Community College Job (HigherEdJobs) Annual Year-Over-Year Change (in Percent) Community College Job (HigherEdJobs) Community College Jobs (BLS) Annual Community College Jobs (BLS) Sources: HigherEdJobs posting data from continuing unlimited posting subscribers; Higher education jobs based on analysis of U.S. Department of Labor / BLS data. administrative job postings. The one bright spot for community colleges was job postings for part-time administrative positions, which increased 2.5 percent. Meanwhile, employment at community colleges decreased 1.8 percent, or about 12,500 jobs, during 2017 from On a year-over-year basis, community college jobs have declined every quarter since Q The 2017 decline was greater than the 1.0 percent decrease, or about 7,100 jobs observed in Note: Though most two-year institutions now designate themselves as Community Colleges, the BLS still categorizes these institutions as Junior Colleges. To avoid confusion, Junior Colleges are referred to as Community Colleges in this finding. Page 8

9 Finding: The Northeast was the only region that experienced an increase in higher education job postings in 2017, while the South experienced the largest percentage decline. Change in Higher Education Job by Census Region and Division 2016 to 2017 Source: HigherEdJobs job postings from unlimited posting subscribers in 2016 and During the second quarter of 2017only one region, the Northeast, experienced an increase in job postings, and had only a marginal gain of 0.3 percent from the same period last year. Conversely, the largest decrease in job postings during 2017 compared the year before was in the South, which decreased 4.5 percent. Nationally, this 2017 cohort, which includes subscribers to HigherEdJobs Unlimited Posting Plan for the past 12 months, experienced a 2.2 percent decrease for all types of higher education job postings compared to last year. Region Percent Change in 2017 Division Percent Change in 2017 WEST -1.9 Pacific -6.9 Mountain 5.5 MIDWEST -1.0 West North Central -0.8 East North Central -1.1 SOUTH -4.5 West South Central -4.8 East South Central South Atlantic -1.1 NORTHEAST 0.3 Middle Atlantic 0.7 Although the cohort examined for this regional analysis of higher education job postings differs from the cohort analyzed in the rest of this report (continuous subscribers New England -0.4 Source: HigherEdJobs job postings from unlimited posting subscribers in Q and Q for four years), it confirms that the overall decline in job postings for higher education jobs was broad-based and not just concentrated or driven by a single area of the country. Note: The regions and divisions used for this analysis are consistent with the official U.S. Census regions and divisions. ( Page 9

10 Higher Education Employment Report Second Quarter 2017 / Published December Innovation Blvd., Suite 235 State College, PA higheredjobs.com media@higheredjobs.com