SteveOH

KLAS-TV Las Vegas, NV (9/10) reports that a recent study from the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that “college grads are taking major hits to their high salary hopes.” According to the study, “the average starting salary for college grads this year was about $48,000,” a decline of “about $1,100″ from last year. Job offers are also down roughly 20 percent for college graduates. Meanwhile, “another survey highlights which college fields have the lowest-paying jobs.” These include “social work, special education, and elementary education.” A student interviewed as part of the article noted that engineering is one of the few fields that are seeing pay increases.

Labor Market Remains Tight. The Wall Street Journal (9/10, A2, Evans) reports that economic recovery notwithstanding, employment continues to lag. The Journal notes that the number of open positions reported by the Labor Department was 2.4 million, compared to the 2007 figure of 4.8 million jobs. The Journal also notes that the Federal Reserve beige book says “labor market conditions remain weak.”

The AP (9/10, Rugaber) reports, “Job openings fell to the lowest level in nine years in July…as businesses remain reluctant to hire despite signs the economy is improving.” Yet, “jobs are being added in some sectors, as companies seek more health care, technology and child care workers. The report underscores the tough competition that jobless Americans face.” The AP notes, “The report also adds to evidence that companies likely will wait until the economy is clearly recovering before hiring new employees. Many analysts believe the economy is likely to grow at a healthy 3% rate in the second half of this year, pulling the country out of the worst recession since the 1930s.” They worry, however, “that the growth will be difficult to sustain, particularly once government stimulus measures, such as the Cash for Clunkers program that ended last month, are no longer in effect.”

Wage Gap Smaller As High Paid Workers Lose Ground. The Wall Street Journal (9/10, A1, Davis, Frank) reports in a front-page story that during the current recession, the difference in income between top earners and those at the bottom has declined. Rather than indicating an improvement for lower-paid workers, the Journal notes that smaller wage gap is the result of declining compensation at the top of the labor market.