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.
Page 1
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.
Page 2
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.
Page 3
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.
Page 4
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.
Page 5
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