Recession-Proof Higher Ed

Could the problem with the unemployment rate in the United States be that it affects the wrong people? “Despite the economic recession, the total number of jobs in higher education continues to follow regular historical patterns and has been characterized as ‘stable,’ according to the latest Higher Education Employment Report from HigherEdJobs.com,” PR Newswire reports.  “Following historical patterns, the number of jobs in higher education continued to rise during the fourth quarter of 2009, albeit at a slightly lower rate than in the recent past.”

“In Q4 2009, the number of jobs in higher education grew 1.3 percent.  Since 2005, fourth quarter growth in the number of higher education jobs has averaged 1.8 percent.” And guess who’s benefiting from this surge? “The percentage of faculty job postings increased significantly during the first half of 2009 compared to previous years, suggesting institutions are targeting their shrinking resources towards academic programs,” PR Newswire tells us.

By the way, the IRS is also hiring more auditors.

Could they both be paid by stimulus funds?

Is the latter keeping the funding flowing for the former?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Malcolm A. Kline is the Executive Director of Accuracy in Academia.