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There’s hope for graduating seniors.

Employers expect to hire 11.2 percent more graduating seniors from the Class of 2004 than the Class of 2003, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

The percentage is not uniform throughout the United States, but instead ranges in each geographic region and industry. The Northeast has a 20.9 percent expected increase in hiring – the highest of any geographic region – while the West only has an 8.3 percent expected increase.

The interest shown by employers at the UCLA Career Center is right on track with the national average. As of April 5, the career center reported an 11 percent increase over the previous year in terms of on-campus recruiting activities such as career fairs, career information sessions and on-campus interviews.

“It seems like the economy is picking up,” said Joyce Haraughty, the center’s employer and corporate relations manager.

“It’s still really competitive, but I think it’s just going to get better,” she added.

Haraughty said of the 5,000 employers on BruinView, over 1,000 of these have been added since May 1.

BruinView is an online database where employers post job offerings. Some of these posts are only accessible to UCLA students, whereas some are accessible to students from a range of universities.

The NACE also reported that 51.5 percent of the employers who responded to their survey planned to hire more new college graduates this year than last.

The hiring outlook is highest among service-sector employees, with a projected increase of 16.1 percent over last year.

Manufacturers also predict a large increase in hiring, but government/nonprofit employers expect a decrease. But the decrease expected for this year is lower than last year’s decrease.

Corresponding with the increases in hiring, the NACE also found that over half of jobs at the bachelor’s degree level reported salary increases.

The greatest salary increase -- up by an average of 10.7 percent over last year -- went to information sciences and systems students. Computer science students showed a large increase as well.

Even with increased demand, some students are still facing unemployment after graduation.

Cynthia Lopez, a fourth-year psychology student, is currently looking for a job for after graduation.

Lopez plans to apply to graduate school in cognitive psychology next year, so she wants to work as a research assistant at UCLA during the upcoming year.

“I want to stay at UCLA, but I understand it’s hard to find positions, so I’ll definitely look other places,” Lopez said, adding that she would also be interested in non-research positions at UCLA.

The willingness of an individual to expand their initial job search and keep an open mind is key to finding a job, Haraughty said.

She also noted students do not always take advantage of all the opportunities available. For example, she said Avon, a manufacturer of personal care products, recently recruited on campus for a district sales manager and did not have a full interview schedule because not enough students signed up.

“I’m not sure if students have decided the job market is too tough to even apply ... but sometimes students do have an opportunity and don’t follow through with it,” Haraughty said.

She also recommended students look at small to midsize companies because “that’s where the jobs will be when the economy turns around.”

Though some students may be disillusioned with the job search, others said they had no trouble finding a job because they were just in the right place at the right time.

“I got really lucky,” said Nolan Hiett, a fourth-year history student, about his upcoming job. “It just kind of fell into my lap.”

Hiett will spend the next year working at a law firm in Santa Monica.

“I’ve worked at the textbook store for four years, so it’ll be nice to change jobs,” Hiett said.