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For the second straight year, the percentage of employers that expect to hire international students has fallen, according to NACE’s Job Outlook 2017 report.

This year, 27.5 percent of employers plan to hire international students, making it the second lowest group since 2012. (See Figure 1.) Last year, 32.8 percent of employers indicated plans to hire international students.

By industry, computer and electronics manufacturing—an industry that hires mainly from STEM disciplines—shows the most interest in hiring international students from the Class of 2017, as almost two-thirds of respondents have plans to do so. (See Figure 2.)

Demand for international students has dropped in three of the four geographic regions this year. (See Figure 3.) The only discrepancy: More employers in the West region plan to hire international students, with more than one-third reporting they will do so. This may be due to the fact that the type of industries located in the West region exhibit the most interest in hiring these graduates.

Data for the Job Outlook 2017 survey were collected from August 5, 2016, through October 4, 2016. A total of 169 surveys were returned—a 17 percent response rate. The Job Outlook 2017 report is available to members through MyNACE.