COLLEGE-GRADUATE JOB OUTLOOK BRIGHTENS IN 1996

An annual recruiting survey by Michigan State University finds:

Employers expect to hire 4.7 percent more college graduates next spring than in 1995, the third straight increase following four years of decline.

Hot majors include: business management, health professions, engineering, science fields, and computer science.

The best pay will go to chemical engineers, $41,182; mechanical engineers, $37,265; electrical engineers, $36,706; industrial engineers, $35,695; and computer science majors, $34,462.

Demand will be highest in the southeast, where 75 percent of employers cite at least mid-range job-availability levels; followed by north central, 74 percent; south central, 68 percent; southwest, 58 percent; northeast, 54 percent; and northwest, 48 percent.

Twenty-two percent of employers use the Internet to list job openings or recruit.