The hot job market is paying off for Utah's college students, with recruiters wooing soon-to-be graduates in record numbers.

Companies conducting interviews at the University of Utah for new hires increased nearly 50 percent since last fall, a growth spurt that mirrors national projections that 2007 graduates will enjoy the best job market in years.

Employers nationally expect to hire 17.4 percent more new college graduates in 2006-07 than last year, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Across the market, the U.S. Labor Department reports that the unemployment rate has dropped to 4.4 percent, its lowest level in five years. In Utah, the jobless rate is even lower at about 2 percent.

"Companies perceive the college recruiting programs as essential to their overall success. They're building for what they believe is going to be a growth phase," said Stan Inman, director of career services at the U.

This fall, Inman said, 84 companies conducted interviews with about 840 students on campus, compared to only 57 companies last year.

The upswing in the job market, combined with a forecast work force exodus of baby boomers, is luring more recruiters, Inman said. In addition, industries that had to cut back during lean years in the past decade are now hiring college grads in record numbers.

Nationally, the sector with the highest growth is the service industry, with a projected 19.8 percent increase in college-graduate hires. Other industries, such as manufacturing and finance, are also seeing high growth, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

"Across the board it's been a healthy increase. No industry has gone down," Inman said.

Starting salaries are also rising, along with demand for college graduates, added Donna Crow, director of career services at Utah State University. In the Western region, for example, employers expect to offer starting wages that are 6 percent higher, she said.

"That's a nice number to look at. We also see hiring bonuses come and go and they're back again," said Crow, who added USU is enjoying its fifth year of recruitment influx.

College grads are in prime position to take advantage of those higher wages and multiplying offers, Crow added, because companies are emphasizing the importance of the college degree. In particular, college students meet the top criteria of most companies, including enthusiasm and cutting-edge skills, Crow said.

U. senior B. Jay Flynn attributes his three job offers with New York investment companies to the hot job market. Flynn will be starting work as an analyst with Citigroup after his graduation in May.

"During the recession, banks laid off tons of analysts, and they obviously weren't hiring," Flynn said. "You're already swimming upstream, and if the banks aren't hiring it's going to make it extremely hard."