NEW YORK, Sept. 4 /PRNewswire/ — Accounting firms once again dominate BusinessWeek's third annual ranking of the "Best Places to Launch a Career": Ernst & Young jumps two spots to No. 1, followed by Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers. The last of the Big Four, KPMG, moved up six spots to No. 5.

While the economy has taken its toll on middle management, many companies are continuing to hire entry-level employees -- in some cases at a blistering pace. Even those that are hiring fewer employees for entry -- level jobs are competing more intensely for the very best. While traditional perks such as pensions and health insurance still have their place, more companies are finding inventive ways to attract, retain, and motivate their youngest employees -- using everything from work-from-home programs to faster promotions to financial benefits that kick in a few years down the road.

No one recognizes the importance of perks more than Ernst & Young, where average salaries haven't increased substantially in at least three years. The Big Four firm still attracts more than 3,000 highly sought-after accounting students each year with extensive training and mentoring programs, performance bonuses, and the promise of face time with top executives-including an annual trip to Walt Disney World for all U.S.-based interns. It's perks like that, along with a recruiting machine in overdrive and near-certain advancement to a supervisor-level position in just two years, that landed Ernst & Young atop BusinessWeek's third annual Best Places to Launch a Career ranking this year, unseating rival Deloitte.

While accounting firms again dominate the top of the list, owing to decent salaries and intense demand, one of the most surprising things about this year's ranking is just how well the investment banks fared. With five banks in the top 50, including Goldman Sachs at No. 4 and J.P. Morgan at No. 10, it was the industry's best showing since the inaugural ranking in 2006, at least in part because the surveys were conducted before the full extent of the turmoil on Wall Street had become apparent. High pay and an otherwise excellent reputation on campuses propelled four of the five banks -- including beleaguered Lehman Brothers -- higher up the ranking.

The Best Places to Launch a Career ranking is based on three separate surveys: a BusinessWeek poll of career-services directors at U.S. colleges; a survey of 40,000 U.S. college students conducted by Universum USA, a Philadelphia research company; and a BusinessWeek poll of the employers themselves. With a greater number of qualified employers participating, BusinessWeek ranked 119 this year, up from 95 in 2007. The increased competition, along with shifts in sentiment among students and career-services directors, sent several newcomers, including No. 14 Target, No. 17 Boston Consulting Group, and No. 19 Anheuser-Busch, vaulting up the ranking, while several favorites from last year came off their pedestals. Microsoft slipped seven spots, to No. 13; Disney fell 20, to No. 27; and Accenture dropped 39, to No. 47.

BusinessWeek's Best Places to Launch a Career ranking is in the September 15, 2008 issue, on newsstands September 5th. Expanded content is available on BusinessWeek.com, including the full methodology, profiles of each employer, an interactive table, slide shows, and a video roundtable with recruiters from top companies.

             BusinessWeek's 50 Best Places to Launch a Career

  2008    2007              Company                         Industry
  Rank    Rank
  1          3       Ernst & Young                   Accounting
  2          1       Deloitte                        Accounting
  3          2       PricewaterhouseCoopers          Accounting
  4         13       Goldman Sachs                   Investing Banking
  5         11       KPMG                            Accounting
  6         45       Marriott International          Hospitality
  7          5       Google                          Internet
  8          9       Lockheed Martin                 Manufacturing
  9          4       IBM                             Technology
  10        17       J.P. Morgan                     Investment Banking
  11        10       Teach for America               Nonprofit/Government
  12        19       U.S. State Dept.                Nonprofit/Government
  13         6       Microsoft                       Technology
  14        --       Target                          Retailing
  15        15       Abbott Labs                     Pharmaceuticals
  16        --       NASA                            Nonprofit/Government
  17        --       Boston Consulting               Consulting
  18        12       General Electric                Manufacturing
  19        --       Anheuser-Busch                  Consumer Goods
  20        90       Norfolk Southern                Transportation
  21        16       Merrill Lynch                   Investment Banking
  22        38       Verizon Communications          Telecommunications
  23        27       Northrop Grumman                Manufacturing
  24        20       General Mills                   Consumer Goods
  25        14       Boeing                          Manufacturing
  26        26       Enterprise Rent-a-Car           Transportation
  27         7       Walt Disney                     Media/Entertainment
  28        47       New York Life                   Insurance
  29        31       Lehman Brothers                 Investment Banking
  30        28       Raytheon                        Manufacturing
  31        77       Cisco Systems                   Technology
  32        43       Philip Morris USA               Consumer Goods
  33        --       Amazon.com                      Internet
  34        84       Northwestern Mutual             Insurance
  35        65       Deutsche Bank                   Investment Banking
  36        40       Intel                           Technology
  37        50       CIA                             Nonprofit/Government
  38        59       AT&T                            Telecommunications
  39        68       Union Pacific                   Transportation
  40        --       Siemens                         Technology
  41        54       Liberty Mutual                  Insurance
  42        51       Wachovia                        Financial Services
  43        37       Travelers                       Insurance
  44        --       Citigroup                       Financial Services
  45        62       Nestle USA                      Consumer Goods
  46        --       Whirlpool                       Consumer Goods
  47         8       Accenture                       Consulting
  48        56       Aetna                           Insurance
  49        89       Kraft Foods                     Consumer Goods
  50        95       MetLife                         Insurance

CONTACT:
Patti Straus, +1-212-512-2680,
Heather Carpenter, +1-212-512-2854