Employers expect to hire more new college graduates in 2004-05 than they hired in 2003-04, according to a new survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers and that&s great news for graduating seniors when only one year ago, students were scrambling for any job they could find.

Sacramento State alumna Annie Vue graduated last spring with a degree in community and regional development and planned to work in higher education outreach. She&s now employed as a media planner.

&I took the job because it seemed interesting,& Vue said. &Due to the current budget crisis, many non-profit organizations and state funded programs I wanted to become involved in had lost most of their funding and had to lay off workers.&

The association said it&s going to offer its new hires higher salaries than were offered to last year&s graduating class. Employers say one of their greatest challenges in the coming year will be competition for hiring &the best and the brightest& of new graduates.

The Sacramento job market is consistent and has been throughout the recession.

&Because Sacramento is very much a government town, the job market tends to be relatively stable, overall,& said Matt Mahood, president of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. &However, many major employers have slowed their hiring and, over the course of the last quarter, Sacramento economy has actually slowed to a rate equal to the rest of the state, but our job market is still stronger than the Bay Area.&

Graduates with degrees in accounting, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, business administration, economics and finance and computer science are expected to be the most hired by employers, according to the Association.

&We&ve seen an increased interest from employers,& says Eva Gabbe, Sac State Career Center manager. &The most sought after degree has got to be business. Sales is another field that employers are hiring for and you can have any degree for that.&

Even though UC Davis has a different focus than Sac State, it&s also seeing the same type of recruitment.

&We&ve definitely seen an increase in recruitment, especially in anything in engineering and family practice,& says Linda Hughes, manager of programs at the UC Davis Career Center. &The most sought after degree seems to be business.&

Jeramiah Fender, a business major with an emphasis in real estate and land use, is planning to graduate in May 2005. He&d like to go into the development field and, although he doesn&t graduate for another semester, he&s planning ahead.

&I&m already interning, but I&m always keeping my eyes and ears open to new positions,& Fender says. &Whenever I go to an event I always look professional, and I&m always prepared to meet a prospective employer.

&The best thing I can tell any student is to intern early and join professional organizations, such as Ro Epsilon for Real Estate Majors. These organizations can help you network and find jobs.&

Upcoming Sac State graduates& futures look bright, but that&s only if they&re ready to put in some work. Advisers in each major can help students become prepared for entering the job market.