Site releasing jobs for graduates

   The number one entry-level job site, CollegeGrad.com, announced the Top 500 Entry Level Employers for 2004 last week, which includes over    120,000 jobs available to the 2004 graduating class.
   “Entry level hiring is taking a very positive turn in 2004,” Brian Krueger, president of CollegeGrad. com, said in a press release.  
   Hiring of college graduates is up over 12 percent compared to 2003.
   “For the first time in four years, the tide has truly turned as employers are again singing the praises of entry level college grad hires,” Jyoti Cox, director of recruitment at GEICO, said in a press release.
   More than 6,500 new grads and no fewer than 10 are being hired by top employers listed on www.CollegeGrad.com/topemployers.
   For the most part, the majority of these employers are hiring new graduates.
   The upward hiring trend has not gone unnoticed on college campuses.
   “We are definitely seeing signs of recovery for the new college hire job market,” Melanie Parker, director of the career resource center at the University of Central Florida, said.
   The 2004 top entry-level employer should aid college graduates who face the extremely competitive entry-level job market.
   The CollegeGrad.com survey results name Enterprise Rent-A-Car as the number one entry-level employer for 2004 with 6,500 projected entry-level hires.
   “The so-called ‘jobless recovery’ is not an issue at Enterprise. We’re not just creating great jobs, but great careers.” Marie Artim, corporate HR manager for Enterprise, said.
   Currently, there are 15 Enterprise Rent-A-Car locations throughout the Fort Worth Area.
   Enterprise is not the only top company listed on the Web site.
   Other notable companies such as Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, the FBI and General Electric are listed as companies also hiring new college grads.
   “During the past few years, the best employers didn’t desert the colleges they recruited at during the economic ‘boom’ of the late ’90s,” Roger       Young, director of career services at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, said.
   The outlook for future graduating classes is very positive and promising.
   “When grad school is not an option and moving back in with the parents is definitely not an option, the good news is that there are still many entry level positions available, just do the research,” Krueger said.
   CollegeGrad.com was established in 1995 and is the number one entry-level job site on the Internet as well as a leader in the field of entry-level job search.
   The Web site has conducted the Top Level Employers Survey for the past six years.