We saw the job market for new college graduates drop significantly in 2002, and it has been climbing back since then. This is the third consecutive year in which employers have reported plans to increase the number of new college graduates they hire, and this is the best job market we've seen for new college graduates in the past four years.

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By and large, the average salary increases employers offered to new college graduates were respectable, and some were standouts.

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Seven of the top-10 majors with the highest starting salary offers saw increases in their offers over last year. Engineering remains strong, and another high point comes for economics/finance graduates, who saw a spectacular 11-percent increase to their average starting salary offers.

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We're seeing a greater range of opportunities opening up for new college graduates. Employers said they plan to hire 9.8 percent more college students than they did last year.

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