Higher Education Employment Report

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 2017. 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 Q2 2017. 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 Q1 2014. The Q2 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

?

Job postings for full-time faculty and full-time

in higher education increased in Q2 2017 by the

administrators both declined in Q2 2017.

largest second quarter increase in five years.

Meanwhile, postings for part-time faculty and

part-time administrative positions increased at

?

Higher education job postings declined in Q2 2017

slightly faster rates than a year earlier.

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

Job postings and employment at community

colleges both declined during Q2 2017.

?

The Northeast was the only region that

postings both declined in Q2 2017, but improved

experienced an increase in higher education

from the immediately preceding quarter.

job postings in Q2 2017, while the South

experienced the largest percentage decline.

?

The decline in job postings in Q2 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.

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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 Q4 2016 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 Q4 2016 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.

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Finding: Despite declining enrollments, the number of jobs in higher

education increased in Q2 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 Q2 2017, higher education employment ¨C 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 ¨C

increased by 0.8 percent, or about 29,900 jobs. This

was the largest second quarter increase since Q2

2012 when it increased by essentially the same

amount. A year earlier, in Q2 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 Q2 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

Year

Annual

2017

Total Overall

Non-Farm Jobs

Q2

Q2

0.8

1.56

Higher Education

Jobs as Percent

of All Jobs

Annual

Q2

2.66

2016

0.2

0.1

1.74

2.67

2.68

2015

0.6

0.7

2.10

2.71

2.72

2014

0.3

0.2

1.82

2.75

2.76

2013

0.2

0.05

1.61

2.79

2.80

2012

0.7

0.8

1.65

2.83

2.85

2011

1.0

1.2

1.02

2.86

2.87

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 Q2 2017

from Q2 2016, or by about 18,400 jobs. Employment at private institutions increased 0.80 percent in Q2 2017, or by

about 11,500 jobs.

Clearly, employment in academe is increasing and by the fastest pace since Q4 2012 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.

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Finding: Higher education job postings declined in Q2 2017 for the second

quarter in a row, but at a lesser rate, after several years of consecutive

quarterly increases.

HigherEdJobs' Postings 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 Q2 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.

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.

Year-Over-Year Change (in Percent)

Year

HigherEdJobs

Postings

Annual

2017

HigherEdJobs

Postings

Q2

Total Higher

Education

Jobs

Annual

-1.9

Total Higher

Education

Jobs

Q2

0.8

2016

10.7

12.5

0.2

0.1

2015

18.1

18.1

0.6

0.7

2014

12.4

11.1

0.3

0.2

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 Q2 2017 from Q2 2016 was an improvement from the 4.5 percent decline in the immediate previous Q1

2017 from Q1 2016. This improvement is expected to continue into at least Q3 2017 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.

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Finding: The number of faculty and non-faculty job postings both declined

in Q2 2017, but improved from the immediately preceding quarter.

Faculty Job Postings Compared to Administrative and Executive Job Postings

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 Q2

2017 from Q1 2017, both declined at a diminishing rate.

Administrative and executive job postings had still been

increasing but at a diminishing rate since Q2 2016 and

crossed into negative territory during Q4 2016. By Q2

2017, the rate of decline slowed. Specifically,

administrative and executive job postings declined 2.3

percent in Q2 2017, which was an improvement from

the preceding Q1 2017 decline of 4.4 percent.

The growth rate for faculty postings waned in Q2 2016

and then declined in Q3 2016. Although growth

rebounded slightly into positive territory in Q4 2016

these postings declined in Q1 2017 as well as during

Q2 2017, but at a lesser rate. Faculty job postings

declined only 0.7 percent in Q2 2017, an improvement

from the immediately preceding Q1 2017 decline of 5.0

percent.

Percent of Job Postings That Were:

Second Quarter

Year

Faculty

Positions

Administrative

and Executive

Positions

2017

23.7

76.3

2016

23.4

2015

Annual

Faculty

Positions

Administrative

and Executive

Positions

76.6

26.0

74.0

28.0

74.7

27.3

72.7

2014

26.3

73.7

29.3

70.7

2013

27.9

72.1

30.9

69.1

Source: HigherEdJobs posting data from continuing unlimited

posting subscribers.

Though the number of faculty job postings was down in

Q2 2017, the ratio of faculty to administrative and executive job postings increased slightly. Faculty job postings

represented 23.7 percent of all job postings during Q4 2017, up from 23.4 percent in Q2 2016. However, the metric

was still down compared to recent years ¨C 28.0 percent in Q2 2015, 26.3 percent in Q2 2014, and 27.9 percent in Q2

2013.

Although the declines in both faculty and non-faculty positions were weaker in Q2 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.

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