Many student loan borrowers will resume making payments on their debt this fall, and some may get an extra boost from their employer.
The share of entry-level jobs that mention student loan repayment programs has more than doubled since 2019, according to data from Handshake, the career platform for college students and recent grads.
As of June, 3% of jobs on Handshake include a student debt repayment benefit, compared with 1.2% of job listings mentioning such benefits in June 2019.
Employers in some sectors are more likely to offer college loan assistance. The industries on the platform with the most full-time jobs mentioning student loan repayment benefits include:
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- Health care and services: 31%
- Non-profit: 23%
- Government, law and politics: 14%
- Financial services: 8%
- Education: 8%
Some common jobs that are more likely to mention student loan repayment keywords in the description include clinical pharmacist, nurse practitioner, software engineer and insurance sales advisor.
The work benefit can give employers a competitive edge, particularly in demanding fields, says Monne Williams, chief impact officer at Handshake.
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"Graduates in the health-care and medical field are known for carrying notable amounts of student loan debt," Williams tells CNBC Make It. "When paired with a high demand for frontline health-care workers and practitioners, these factors make student loan repayment options a competitive benefit."
The same goes for college grads going into government and non-profits. "Organizations in those fields are often competing for the same talent as the private sector, so prominently advertising student loan benefit programs can provide a compelling edge," Williams says, whether they're offered by the organization or as part of larger public service programs.
Outside of Handshake, 17% of employers offered some type of student loan assistance as of a 2021 survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
Types of student loan benefits
Student loan repayment assistance takes many forms, including debt payment counseling or education, granting access to 401(k) loans, or direct payment help.
Other businesses make additional 401(k) contributions to employees paying off student debt, which Travelers, the insurance company, began in 2020.
Each year, the company will match an employee's student loan payments or their 401(k) contributions for the year, up to 5% of their pay (and a max of $7,500) and deposit that amount into the employee's retirement plan.
The aim is to ensure that even if an employee wants to pay off their student debt, they don't have to sacrifice making retirement contributions at the same time.
So far, the program has paid out 1,600 employees to the amount of $6.6 million, says Greg Landmark, who heads up Travelers' benefits programs.
While the urgency around student loan payments has slowed in the last three years, Travelers anticipates increased interest in the program by October, when repayment on federal student loans resumes. It's especially popular with new hires and early-career workers.
"We're focused on helping our employees succeed in work and in life, and this felt like a meaningful way to have an impact," Landmark says.
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