As the credit crunch roils financial markets and the U.S. economy sputters, new college graduates are plunging into the rockiest job market in recent years.

The bleaker picture is in stark contrast with last year, when colleges and employers reported robust hiring, and students in finance, accounting and other hot fields were choosing among numerous offers. Now, companies that just a few months ago were planning substantial increases in entry-level hiring have scaled back their plans as economic conditions have worsened. In turbulent areas such as financial services, some firms are slashing the number of fresh graduates they intend to employ, and students are curtailing expectations of finding their ideal position.

Ken Goldstein, a labor economist at the Conference Board, a New York business research group, says the shift in mood is going to be particularly difficult for seniors who haven't already secured a job, 'especially those graduates with C or B-minus averages.' In the current climate, employers 'tell folks, 'Don't call us, we'll call you,'' Mr. Goldstein says. 'That sort of has been the modus operandi when the economy gets this slow.'

The latest unemployment figures reinforce the gloom. The jobless rate rose to 5.1% in March, the highest since September 2005, the Labor Department reported Friday.

To cope with the gloomier outlook, some graduating seniors are opting for jobs they think are less likely to be affected by tumult in the financial sector. James Auger, a 22-year-old human communications sciences major at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., had hoped to start a career in banking, but he recently accepted a job at Health Care Futures LP, a consulting firm in Itasca, Ill. Part of the reason, he says, was 'because they weren't really attached to the market as much as the banks were.'

There are some bright spots for the Class of 2008. Government hiring remains robust. In fields such as health care and technology, some businesses are hoping to sign on more newly minted grads than last year, while companies in other fields say they're keeping their hiring goals steady. Meanwhile, some seniors headed for careers in finance, consulting and other hard-hit sectors locked in offers from employers last fall, when the outlook for the U.S. economy was less gloomy.

Sarah Quarterman, global head of campus recruiting at Merrill Lynch & Co., says that despite the downturn in finance, banks are unlikely to cut back on hiring to the extent they did in 2000. 'Everyone learned the lesson that it wasn't the smart thing to do because students that get hired from campus are a pipeline for the organization,' she says. 'What a lot of firms experienced in 2005 and 2006 was a shortage of talent at the VP level,' typically five or six years out of school.

Still, the overall mood in the job market has taken a dramatic downturn from just a few months ago. According to a survey conducted last fall by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, a Bethlehem, Pa., nonprofit, large employers initially expected to boost hiring of new graduates 16%, on average, this year from last year's levels. After redoing the survey in February, NACE found employers planned a more modest 8% increase overall. Within financial services, hiring is now anticipated to fall 7.5% this year, as investment banks announce sweeping cutbacks.

Even offers made last fall aren't set in stone. At Bear Stearns Cos., whose planned acquisition by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is expected to result in thousands of layoffs, half of the 100 or so job offers to graduating seniors are being rescinded, mainly in areas where the two firms overlap, according to a person familiar with the matter. J.P. Morgan says all its offers to graduating seniors remain valid.

Among other financial-services firms, Citigroup Inc. says that its hiring of undergraduate students is down 10% this year. Merrill Lynch's number of college hires is flat this year after increasing last year. Deloitte LLP says it is employing 6,000 college juniors and seniors this year for full-time or intern positions -- the same level as last year. In previous years, the accounting firm has seen increases of about 10%. 'It may not be as dramatic of a growth as the year prior,' says Diane Borhani, head of U.S. campus recruiting at Deloitte. 'We are going to be a little smart.'

College seniors are feeling the pressure to secure a job earlier in the year. Trudy Steinfeld, executive director at the Wasserman Center for Career Development at New York University, says that 45% of the senior class has full-time job offers so far, up from 40% this time last year. She attributes the increase to students accepting the first job they are offered. 'The talk on campus is that if you have an offer, this isn't the year to go shopping,' she says.

Scott Bell, who plans to graduate this year from New York University with a degree in East Asian studies, was looking for a job in financial services or consulting. The 21-year-old was unable to land interviews with major investment banks, despite a strong grade-point average and an internship in the Tokyo office of global management consultancy Bain & Co.

Mr. Bell received an offer for a consulting job in Deloitte's New York office in November. Rather than wait for more offers, Mr. Bell accepted. 'In this economic situation, everyone was a little worried,' he says. 'It would be better for me to take what I had.'

Companies in sectors that saw robust increases in recent years say their hiring is flat this year. International Business Machines Corp. says it hired 5,000 people in the U.S. last year, 36% of whom were recent university graduates -- the same as in 2006. This year, 'given the broader economy in the U.S., we don't see huge growth,' says Vera Chota, manager of university recruiting for IBM.

Certain skills still are in strong demand, says Ms. Chota, adding that the company can't find enough qualified graduates with degrees in computer science and those who have knowledge of both business and IT. 'In the U.S., unfortunately, there are not enough great computer-science graduates,' Ms. Chota says.

On college campuses, career-services directors say job offers have continued to flow in from employers in health care, information technology, and the nonprofit and government sectors. Demand for skilled workers in industries like computer science is boosting the average starting salary 4% this year from last, according to a NACE survey.

A breakdown by industry shows that starting salaries for accounting and finance grads rose by a mere 1.9%, while business-administration and management graduates saw increases of less than 1%. The average offer for computer-science majors, on the other hand, rose 7.9%. Engineering graduates saw an average increase of 5.7%.

The job outlook for new graduates can vary from college to college, depending on a school's location and its rankings in certain industries.

The University of Texas at Austin undergraduate school of business, where approximately 70% of college seniors find jobs within the state, 75% of seniors have received job offers so far, on par with last year. With oil prices hovering near historic highs, the university is seeing strong demand from energy companies in Texas, who typically hire undergraduate business students for positions in marketing, supply-chain management or corporate finance, says Velma Arney, director of undergraduate career services at UT's McCombs School of Business.

College juniors, meanwhile, are anticipating tough times ahead. 'It's probably going to be a lot more difficult' for next year's graduating seniors, says Karim Hemani, 21, a business honors student majoring in finance at the University of Texas at Austin.

Mr. Hemani, a junior, says that when he tried to find an internship in investment banking for the coming summer earlier this year, recruiters warned him that the labor market would be tighter for his class. He eventually landed an internship at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. LLC, an energy investment firm in Houston. Among college juniors, 'the sentiment is a lot more negative right now,' he says.

As the credit crunch roils financial markets and the U.S. economy sputters, new college graduates are plunging into the rockiest job market in recent years.

The bleaker picture is in stark contrast with last year, when colleges and employers reported robust hiring, and students in finance, accounting and other hot fields were choosing among numerous offers. Now, companies that just a few months ago were planning substantial increases in entry-level hiring have scaled back their plans as economic conditions have worsened. In turbulent areas such as financial services, some firms are slashing the number of fresh graduates they intend to employ, and students are curtailing expectations of finding their ideal position.

Ken Goldstein, a labor economist at the Conference Board, a New York business research group, says the shift in mood is going to be particularly difficult for seniors who haven't already secured a job, 'especially those graduates with C or B-minus averages.' In the current climate, employers 'tell folks, 'Don't call us, we'll call you,'' Mr. Goldstein says. 'That sort of has been the modus operandi when the economy gets this slow.'

The latest unemployment figures reinforce the gloom. The jobless rate rose to 5.1% in March, the highest since September 2005, the Labor Department reported Friday.

To cope with the gloomier outlook, some graduating seniors are opting for jobs they think are less likely to be affected by tumult in the financial sector. James Auger, a 22-year-old human communications sciences major at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., had hoped to start a career in banking, but he recently accepted a job at Health Care Futures LP, a consulting firm in Itasca, Ill. Part of the reason, he says, was 'because they weren't really attached to the market as much as the banks were.'

There are some bright spots for the Class of 2008. Government hiring remains robust. In fields such as health care and technology, some businesses are hoping to sign on more newly minted grads than last year, while companies in other fields say they're keeping their hiring goals steady. Meanwhile, some seniors headed for careers in finance, consulting and other hard-hit sectors locked in offers from employers last fall, when the outlook for the U.S. economy was less gloomy.

Sarah Quarterman, global head of campus recruiting at Merrill Lynch & Co., says that despite the downturn in finance, banks are unlikely to cut back on hiring to the extent they did in 2000. 'Everyone learned the lesson that it wasn't the smart thing to do because students that get hired from campus are a pipeline for the organization,' she says. 'What a lot of firms experienced in 2005 and 2006 was a shortage of talent at the VP level,' typically five or six years out of school.

Still, the overall mood in the job market has taken a dramatic downturn from just a few months ago. According to a survey conducted last fall by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, a Bethlehem, Pa., nonprofit, large employers initially expected to boost hiring of new graduates 16%, on average, this year from last year's levels. After redoing the survey in February, NACE found employers planned a more modest 8% increase overall. Within financial services, hiring is now anticipated to fall 7.5% this year, as investment banks announce sweeping cutbacks.

Even offers made last fall aren't set in stone. At Bear Stearns Cos., whose planned acquisition by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is expected to result in thousands of layoffs, half of the 100 or so job offers to graduating seniors are being rescinded, mainly in areas where the two firms overlap, according to a person familiar with the matter. J.P. Morgan says all its offers to graduating seniors remain valid.

Among other financial-services firms, Citigroup Inc. says that its hiring of undergraduate students is down 10% this year. Merrill Lynch's number of college hires is flat this year after increasing last year. Deloitte LLP says it is employing 6,000 college juniors and seniors this year for full-time or intern positions -- the same level as last year. In previous years, the accounting firm has seen increases of about 10%. 'It may not be as dramatic of a growth as the year prior,' says Diane Borhani, head of U.S. campus recruiting at Deloitte. 'We are going to be a little smart.'

College seniors are feeling the pressure to secure a job earlier in the year. Trudy Steinfeld, executive director at the Wasserman Center for Career Development at New York University, says that 45% of the senior class has full-time job offers so far, up from 40% this time last year. She attributes the increase to students accepting the first job they are offered. 'The talk on campus is that if you have an offer, this isn't the year to go shopping,' she says.

Scott Bell, who plans to graduate this year from New York University with a degree in East Asian studies, was looking for a job in financial services or consulting. The 21-year-old was unable to land interviews with major investment banks, despite a strong grade-point average and an internship in the Tokyo office of global management consultancy Bain & Co.

Mr. Bell received an offer for a consulting job in Deloitte's New York office in November. Rather than wait for more offers, Mr. Bell accepted. 'In this economic situation, everyone was a little worried,' he says. 'It would be better for me to take what I had.'

Companies in sectors that saw robust increases in recent years say their hiring is flat this year. International Business Machines Corp. says it hired 5,000 people in the U.S. last year, 36% of whom were recent university graduates -- the same as in 2006. This year, 'given the broader economy in the U.S., we don't see huge growth,' says Vera Chota, manager of university recruiting for IBM.

Certain skills still are in strong demand, says Ms. Chota, adding that the company can't find enough qualified graduates with degrees in computer science and those who have knowledge of both business and IT. 'In the U.S., unfortunately, there are not enough great computer-science graduates,' Ms. Chota says.

On college campuses, career-services directors say job offers have continued to flow in from employers in health care, information technology, and the nonprofit and government sectors. Demand for skilled workers in industries like computer science is boosting the average starting salary 4% this year from last, according to a NACE survey.

A breakdown by industry shows that starting salaries for accounting and finance grads rose by a mere 1.9%, while business-administration and management graduates saw increases of less than 1%. The average offer for computer-science majors, on the other hand, rose 7.9%. Engineering graduates saw an average increase of 5.7%.

The job outlook for new graduates can vary from college to college, depending on a school's location and its rankings in certain industries.

The University of Texas at Austin undergraduate school of business, where approximately 70% of college seniors find jobs within the state, 75% of seniors have received job offers so far, on par with last year. With oil prices hovering near historic highs, the university is seeing strong demand from energy companies in Texas, who typically hire undergraduate business students for positions in marketing, supply-chain management or corporate finance, says Velma Arney, director of undergraduate career services at UT's McCombs School of Business.

College juniors, meanwhile, are anticipating tough times ahead. 'It's probably going to be a lot more difficult' for next year's graduating seniors, says Karim Hemani, 21, a business honors student majoring in finance at the University of Texas at Austin.

Mr. Hemani, a junior, says that when he tried to find an internship in investment banking for the coming summer earlier this year, recruiters warned him that the labor market would be tighter for his class. He eventually landed an internship at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. LLC, an energy investment firm in Houston. Among college juniors, 'the sentiment is a lot more negative right now,' he says.

信贷危机害得整个金融市场焦头烂额，美国经济也是步履艰难，而眼下又有新一届毕业生即将投身这个就在不久前还热火朝天的就业市场。

如此惨淡的景象和去年形成了鲜明的对比。当时大学院校和雇主提供的就业数据都表现强劲，而那些主修金融、财会等热门专业的学生更是收到了招工企业抛来的无数“绣球”。而今，那些几个月前还计划要大规模扩招初级员工的企业纷纷因为整个经济形势的恶化而打起了退堂鼓。在金融服务业这样的就业“重灾区”，一些公司大幅削减了大学毕业生的招聘计划，而学生们对于理想工作的期望值也随之降低 。

纽约商业研究组织世界大型企业联合会(Conference Board)的就业问题经济学家肯•戈德斯坦(Ken Goldstein)表示，劳动市场转冷对那些还没有签订就业合同的大四学生尤其不利，特别是对那些成绩为C或B-的学生而言更是如此。戈德斯坦指出，在当前的大环境下，雇主会对应聘者说“不要给我们打电话，我们会联系你的”；而这就是经济放缓时公司的一贯托辞。

最新发布的失业数据也映衬出劳动力市场的黯淡前景。美国劳工部(Labor Department)上周五发布的数据显示，美国3月份的失业率为5.1%，创2005年9月以来新高。

广告为了应对愈加艰难的局面，一些即将毕业的大四学生干脆去那些受金融危机影响较小的领域里找工作。22岁的詹姆斯•奥格(James Auger)是西北大学(Northwestern University)人类交流学专业的毕业生，他原本希望能从银行业开始自己的职业生涯，但最后接受了咨询公司Health Care Futures LP提供的工作机会。他表示，做此选择的原因之一就是这个行业不像银行业那样和市场密切相关。

08年的应届毕业生也能看到一些希望的火花。政府招工规模依然庞大。在医疗保健和科技等领域，一些公司希望比去年招收更多的毕业生，还有一些企业则表示他们的招工规模与往年持平。与此同时，一些想在金融、咨询或其他在当前危机中受创颇深的领域中求职的毕业生去年秋天已经收到了招工单位发出的接收函，而当时美国经济前景看上去还不那么糟糕。

美林公司(Merrill Lynch & Co.)负责全球应届毕业生招聘工作的莎拉•考特尔曼(Sarah Quarterman)表示，虽然金融业一片萧条，但各家银行削减招工人数的幅度不太可能像2000年时那样大刀阔斧。考特尔曼指出，在2000年的应届生招聘低谷过后，许多企业在2005和2006年时都发现自己没有培养足够的人才来出任业务副总，这个教训让大家意识到应届生的招聘能为整个组织的发展提供人才给养，在这件事情上设卡并非明智之举。

不过，就业市场的整体行情与前几个月相比仍可以用“急转直下”来形容。非营利机构全美大学和雇主协会(National Association of Colleges and Employers, 简称NACE)去年秋天所做的调查显示，根据一些大公司原本的计划，今年的应届生招聘规模将较去年平均增加16%；而今年2月份重新进行这项调查时发现，上述增幅已经萎缩到了8%。而随着各家投行陆续宣布大幅裁员，金融服务企业的招聘规模预计将较去年减少7.5%。

更有甚者，学生们去年秋天拿到的接收函也不太保险了。知情人士透露，可能因被摩根大通(J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.)收购而裁员数千人的贝尔斯登(Bear Stearns Cos.)此前向大约100名应届毕业生发出了接收函，估计其中一半人最后是空欢喜一场，特别是在贝尔斯登与摩根大通有业务交集的领域。而摩根大通则已明确表示，它自己发出的接收函仍旧有效。

再来看看其他金融服务企业。花旗集团(Citigroup Inc.)表示，今年应届大学毕业生的招聘规模将减少10%。而继07年上调应届生招聘数量后，美林公司今年的招工规模与去年持平。德勤会计师事务所(Deloitte LLP)则表示，今年将招收6000名大三和大四的学生做全职或实习工作，这一水平同去年相当，而此前德勤的应届生招聘规模平均每年都会较上年增长10%左右。公司负责全美应届毕业生招聘工作的戴安娜•波阿尼(Diane Borhani)谈到，今年应届生的招聘增幅可能不及往年可观，是因为公司是想稍做精简。

大四学生在今年早些时候就体会到了求职的压力。纽约大学(New York University)职业发展研究中心的特鲁迪•斯坦菲尔德(Trudy Steinfeld)表示，目前有45%的应届生拿到了全职工作的接收函，而去年此时这一比例只有40%。她认为这是因为学生们在拿到第一封接收函后就会欣然接受。斯坦菲尔德说，校园里有这样一种说法，今年光景不好，如果能拿到一份接收函的话就别再挑挑拣拣了。

即将从纽约大学东亚问题研究专业毕业的斯科特•贝尔(Scott Bell)原打算在金融服务或咨询领域找到一份工作，但这位21岁的毕业生连大型投行的面试机会都没能获得，尽管他学习成绩优秀，而且还在全球管理咨询企业贝恩顾问公司(Bain & Co.)的东京办事处做过实习生。

去年11月，贝尔拿到了德勤驻纽约办事处提供的从事咨询工作的机会。他没有再等待更多接收函，而是选择了加盟这家公司。他说，在当前的经济环境下每个人都心存焦虑，不让到手的东西溜走比什么都强。

近年来某些行业的公司应届毕业生招工人数出现了强劲增长，但它们表示今年的招聘规模将与去年持平。国际商业机器公司(IBM)表示它去年在美国录用了5000名新员工，其中36%是应届生，与2006年时一样。IBM应届毕业生招聘负责人维拉•乔塔(Vera Chota)指出，考虑到美国的整体经济环境，公司今年的招聘规模可能不会大幅增长。

乔塔指出，有些专业仍然很热门，比如IBM就招不到足够数量的计算机专业的合格毕业生，以及那种兼备商业和IT知识的人才。乔塔表示，可惜在美国，计算机专业的优秀毕业生确实不多。

大学里的就业辅导老师介绍说，仍然有一些医疗保健和信息技术领域的企业、非营利机构以及政府单位到大学里招人。NACE的调查显示，计算机等行业对熟练工人的旺盛需求已令其今年的起薪水平较去年平均增长了4%。

根据各行业所做的细分调查显示，会计和金融业毕业生的起薪水平仅增长了1.9%，而工商管理专业学生的工资增长更是不到1%。相比之下，计算机和工程专业毕业生的平均起薪增幅分别达到了7.9%和5.7%。

应届毕业生的就业前景也因学校不同而有所差异；这又主要取决于学校所在地以及它在相关行业中的排名情况。

在得克萨斯大学(University of Texas)奥斯汀分校的商学院中，约七成的本科生都在得州找到了工作，目前共有75%拿到了企业发出的接收函，与去年大体相当。得克萨斯大学McCombs商学院的就业辅导主任维尔玛•阿尔尼(Velma Arney)表示，鉴于油价一直在历史高位徘徊，学校发现当地能源企业的用工需求十分旺盛，它们通常想找一些商科学生从事营销、供应链管理或财务工作。

与此同时大学三年级的学生们也意识到了以后的日子不好过。得州大学奥斯汀分校金融专业21岁的三年级学生卡里姆•哈玛尼(Karim Hemani)说，到了明年找工作时形势可能要严峻得多。

这位优等生说，今年早些时候他曾试着在投行找一份暑期的实习生工作，当时招工人员就告诉他，这一届的就业市场可能会更为紧张。最终他在休斯顿一家名为Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. LLC的能源咨询企业找到了实习机会。哈玛尼说，如今大三学生的情绪要低落很多。

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