Spotlight for Recruiting Professionals
Will your organization offer signing bonuses to graduates from the Class of 2018? If so, it’s part of a growing group doing so. Signing bonuses are on the rise again as the percentage of employers planning to offer them has reached a five-year high, according to results of NACE’s Job Outlook 2018.
This year, 56.8 percent of respondents plan to offer signing bonuses to Class of 2018 graduates. (See Figure 1.) That is up slightly from last year when 55.2 percent of respondents had plans to offer signing bonuses to Class of 2017 graduates; 57.3 percent of organizations went on to provide signing bonuses to Class of 2017 graduates, which was another high.
This year, more than two-thirds of respondents will offer signing bonuses only to certain graduates earning preferred degrees. The top degrees in demand—business, computer science, and engineering—will be those most likely to receive signing bonuses.
By industry, signing bonuses will be offered primarily by respondents in the food and beverage manufacturing, retail trade, and management consulting industries. By region, employers in the West and Southeast are most likely to offer signing bonuses. In both regions, more than 65 percent of respondents have plans to do so.
Data for the Job Outlook 2018 survey were collected from August 9, 2017, through October 2, 2017. A total of 201 surveys were returned—a 20.5 percent response rate. The Job Outlook 2018 report is available to members through MyNACE; nonmembers can purchase the report through the NACE store.
Figure 1: Employers Offering Signing Bonuses
| Recruiting Year |
Planned |
Actual |
| 2017-18 |
56.8% |
NA |
| 2016-17 |
55.2% |
57.3% |
| 2015-16 |
51.8% |
54.2% |
| 2014-15 |
51.0% |
52.9% |
| 2013-14 |
47.1% |
48.8% |
| 2012-13 |
48.4% |
48.0% |
Source: Job Outlook 2018, National Association of Colleges and Employers