Job Prospects Up, Starting Salaries Flat

A recent survey by Monster Worldwide revealed that 76% of employers plan to hire 2007 graduates, up from 72% last year. While employers reported that they intended to hire more college grads, 63% also indicated that they did not plan to increase entry-level wages because they believed they received more than 70 applications for a typical position.

Another interesting bits uncovered in the survey of 985 employers and 2,545 students:
89% of prospective grads expect to receive at least one job offer by graduation; 74% expect two or more offers
Candidates GPA is the least important hiring consideration (according to employers)
78% of prospective grads plan to complete at least one internship to gain work experience

And perhaps most interesting of all, there is a huge gap between employer and prospective grad perception of the needs of employees. Employers are focused on providing work/life balance opportunities because they believe this is most important to prospective new hires; prospective grads are most focused on "fulfilling work and growth opportunities".