This spring\u2019s college graduates face better job prospects than the dismal environment encountered by last year\u2019s grads. But that doesn\u2019t mean the job market is thriving.<\/p>\n
Average starting salaries are down, and employers plan to make only 5 percent more job offers to new graduates this spring compared to last spring, when job offers were down 20 percent from 2008 levels, according to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, which tracks recruitment data.<\/p>\n
Liam O\u2019Reilly, who just graduated from the University of Maryland with a bachelor\u2019s degree in history, said he had applied to 50 employers \u201d\u201d to be a paralegal, a researcher for a policy organization, an administrative assistant \u201d\u201d but he had gotten hardly any interviews. While continuing to search for something he truly wants, he has taken a minimum-wage job selling software that includes an occasional commission.<\/p>\n
\u201cHad I realized it would be this bad, I would have applied to grad school,\u201d\u009d Mr. O\u2019Reilly said.<\/p>\n