Graduating seniors still searching for a job can breathe a small sigh of relief because the job market looks good this year, University experts say.

"We think that the job market this year, as measured by on campus recruiting, has maintained a very strong pace," said Phil Bucher, assistant director for Career Information Systems, adding that more than 1,000 recruiters have visited campus this year.

The majors that are in highest demand include computer science, electrical and mechanical engineering, nursing, accounting, and market sales, he said.

Patrick Sheetz, assistant director of Placement Services at Michigan State University and author of Recruiting Trends 1988-1989 said job opportunities are up 3.1 percent since last year.

"Majors that will face a challenge on the market this year, meaning more competition, are: agriculture, natural resources, foreign language, social sciences, and communications," Scheetz added.

Many students supplement on-campus recruiting by using three or four job search strategies such as networking and contacting employers on their own, Bucher said.

Two especially rich sources of information on the job market are the College Placement Council's Salary Survey and Michigan State University's Career Trends 1988-1989, Bucher said.

"The Michigan State publication is based on projected need and the CPC data is based on actual job offers recorded by employers," he said.

Dawn Oberman, statistical services specialist for the College Placement Council, said the information found in the Salary Survey is a result of on-campus recruiting offers and reported job offers to the CPC.

"Right now chemical engineering offers the best prospect with a beginning salary of $32,812. This is an increase of 5.9 percent from last year's starting salary offer," she said.

Because of the many business graduates, business is a very competitive field for finding a job, Oberman said.

"It seems to be a trend, the more graduates, the harder it is to get a job," she added.

Scheetz said that geographically, the Southwest offers the most employment possibilities followed by the Northeast. "The Northwest is bringing up the tail end," he said.

Alex Seltzer, assistant vice president and general manager of Manpower Temporary Services, 444 E. College Ave., said Manpower, Inc. releases a quarterly Employment Outlook Survey as a public service.

"The survey is a quarterly measurement of hiring intentions of 14,000 employers in 427 cities," he said.

From data released March 6, Seltzer said that nationally 30 percent of the 14,000 surveyed plan to increase their work force while 6 percent plan a workforce reduction.

When looking at State College specifically, he said 48 percent of employers surveyed plan a job increase, none plan to downsize, 49 percent do not see any change, and 3 percent are unsure.

Bucher said that this year students are taking advantage of smaller companies by evidence of the number of interviews being granted and the number of requests students are turning in.

"Not everyone is looking toward the Fortune 500 companies," he added.

Scheetz said that the name of the game is to get that first job.

"The jobs are out there, the best thing one can do is to actively pursue a job campaign. Sitting by passively, waiting for the jobs to come to you may not bring the expected results," he added.

Scheetz said students should be aware of drug testing. Last year, 27 percent of employers in the United States surveyed tested for drugs, he said, adding that 32 percent of the employers tested this year, he added.