A new report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW), published today, highlights the US states and sectors offering the best chances of finding graduate jobs online. Massachusetts, Delaware and Washington State emerge as the states with the most favorable online graduate job markets – though federal district Washington DC trumps all three – while STEM, managerial and professional office, and healthcare technical and professional jobs are identified as the graduate roles with highest demand being advertised online.
Titled States Online College Job Market: Ranking the States, this report follows CEW’s earlier publication, The Online College Labor Market. The center estimates that 60-70% of jobs in the US are now advertised online, with nearly 4 million unique job advertisements posted online each quarter. Some 80-90% of jobs requiring at least a bachelor’s degree are advertised online, compared to 50% of jobs which don’t require a degree. Three out of every five online job adverts are for either managerial or professional office roles, or for jobs in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
The center also highlights the benefits of hunting for jobs online; overall, it reports that those who search for jobs online find a position 25% more quickly than those who don’t.
Which US states offer the best chances of finding graduate jobs online?
The report analyses the number of graduate jobs advertised online in each state, relative to the number of graduate workers in the area. This is used to calculate the US states offering the best chances of finding graduate jobs online, relative to the national average. Massachusetts comes top of this list, followed by Delaware (which boasts a high concentration of corporate headquarters) and Washington State (home to tech giants such as Microsoft and Amazon).
Also above the national average on this measure of graduate job prospects are: Colorado, Alaska, Arizona, Oregon, Minnesota, Texas, Iowa, Montana, South Dakota, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, North Carolina, Michigan and Virginia.
But in fact the most favorable location for finding graduate jobs online is not a state at all; it’s the federal district, Washington DC. Thanks largely to the presence of the federal government and many international organizations, DC’s ratio of graduate jobs advertised online per university-educated worker is three times the national average, far higher than any individual state.
Which sectors are advertising most graduate jobs online?
The report also analyses the employment sectors and roles offering most favorable prospects for university graduates, again based on the number of jobs advertised online per graduate worker. The STEM sector is found to offer the best prospects for university graduates, offering the highest number of online job adverts per 100 graduate workers. Also above the national average are managerial and professional office jobs, as well as professional and technical healthcare roles. Meanwhile, the most competitive sectors are healthcare support, education, and roles in food and personal services.
Within each employment sector, CEW identifies the states currently offering the most favorable graduate job prospects. For those seeking managerial and professional occupations, the highest concentrations of online job adverts are for roles based in Massachusetts, Delaware, Washington, California, New Jersey and New York. Those looking for STEM roles are advised to head for Delaware, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio or Oregon, for the best chances of finding a graduate job online.
Best US states for finding graduate jobs onlineBased on the States Online College Job Market report | |
Employment sector | Top US states for finding graduate jobs online |
Managerial and professional office | Massachusetts, Delaware, Washington, California, New Jersey, New York |
STEM | Delaware, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Oregon |
Sales and office support | Montana, Massachusetts, Idaho, Washington, Delaware |
Healthcare professional and technical | Alaska, Montana, New Mexico, Washington, Colorado |
Education | South Dakota, Vermont, Maine, Alaska, Massachusetts |
Community services and the arts | Delaware, Washington, Kansas, Nebraska, Massachusetts |
Overall, roles in consulting and business services account for for the highest number of online adverts for jobs in the US, making up 23% of all online job adverts. Particularly high-demand professional roles include accountancy and auditing, and medical/health services management. In the STEM sector, notably high numbers of online job adverts are reported for applications software developers and computer systems analysts.
