Oklahoma public colleges produce fewer graduates

Thousands of college graduates are poised to enter the workforce this spring armed with credentials they earned at Oklahoma's public colleges and universities.

The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education estimates nearly 34,000 students in the state system have earned degrees and college-level certificates during the 2017-18 academic year.

The preliminary figure is based on a survey of the 25 public higher education institutions. Official data will be available later.

The number is down about 1,740 graduates from last spring.

"This is a special time for the thousands of Oklahoma college and university graduates receiving their degrees," said higher education Chancellor Glen Johnson. "The State Regents applaud their efforts and wish them well as they embark on the next phase of their lives."

U.S. employers plan to hire 4 percent more graduates from the class of 2018 than they did from the class of 2017, according to the personal-finance website WalletHub.

In a report issued May 15, WalletHub compared the relative market strength and overall livability of 182 U.S. cities where college graduates might want to start building their careers. Each city's ranking was based on 27 metrics that range from the availability of entry-level jobs to monthly average starting salary to workforce diversity.

Topping the list was Salt Lake City, Utah, with Santa Clarita, California, coming in last.

Oklahoma City finished 50th and Tulsa 72nd. Three in four graduates who earn a bachelor's degree in Oklahoma are employed in the state five years later, according to State Regents data.

WalletHub reports the monthly average starting salary (adjusted for the cost of living) is $2,883 in Oklahoma City and $2,654 in Tulsa.

Oklahoma City's median annual income (adjusted for the cost of living) is $58,975, 21st best on the list, while Tulsa's is $46,788 or 101st.

Both cities ranked high in housing affordability with Oklahoma City 23rd and Tulsa 32nd.

Other high rankings for the state were in entrepreneurship friendliness (Oklahoma City 1st and Tulsa 4th), workforce diversity (Oklahoma City 6th and Tulsa 22nd) and average commute time (Tulsa 24th).

Data used for rankings were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Housing and Urban Development, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Council for Community & Economic Research and other sources.

Go to wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-cities-to-start-a-career/3626/ to see the full report.

Business, nursing top degrees

More than half the graduates from of Oklahoma's public institutions, about 17,275, earned bachelor's degrees. The most popular fields of study were business administration, psychology and nursing.

Nursing, business and general studies were the programs most frequently selected by the projected 9,068 students who earned associate degrees.

An estimated 4,600 students received master's degrees in a variety of fields, most notably in education and business administration.

More than 1,140 students have earned college-level certificates, mainly in the areas of child development, computer science and marketing.

Approximately 500 students earned doctoral degrees, and an estimated 1,120 others received professional degrees in areas such as law and medicine.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers reports hiring will be down sharply in two industries.

A survey conducted from Feb. 12 to March 30 shows insurance firms anticipate hiring 42 percent fewer people due to recent natural disasters that caused catastrophic losses. Retail employers plan to decrease their hires by almost 33 percent, citing the changing landscape of their industry and lack of new openings.