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CORVALLIS - Oregon State University students are continuing to reap the benefits as employers scramble to hire enough students to fill their needs.

"Last year was one of the best we've had in college recruiting," and it looks as if the trend will continue this year, said Thomas Munnerlyn, director of OSU Career Services.

While it is still a bit early for hard facts for about summer employment opportunities, Munnerlyn said that OSU students seeking permanent, full-time jobs are being besieged with employment offers and summer job opportunities usually follow the trend.

One sign of the corporate hiring frenzy is that the university's spring career fair was sold-out, Munnerlyn said, with 103 firms sending recruiters to campus.

"That's the most we ever had at a career fair. We ran out of room. We had to turn some employers away." he said. The fall career fair attracted 92 employers.

Munnerlyn credits the nation's strong economy, with the national unemployment rate hovering around 4.3 percent and Oregon's jobless rate at 5.7 percent.

"Right now, it's great. Many students are getting two or three job offers and they come into Career Services and say 'Gosh, I don't know what to do, how do I choose?' It's a great problem to have," Munnerlyn said.

For example, graduates from the OSU College of Pharmacy are enjoying a steady 100 percent placement rate, with job offers starting at about $50,000 a year, said Wayne Kradjan, dean of the college.

It's difficult to say how long demand may last, Munnerlyn said, since employment often follows a cycle of ups and down. But more than 400 firms a year recruit on the OSU campus, he said, making OSU the top campus for corporate recruiting in the state.