The hiring outlook has brightened for students who will graduate from college or finish graduate school next spring, with the number of job offers for such students rising 4.2 percent from last year to 583,600, the highest since 1999, according to Recruit Co.

Recruit, a provider of employment and other types of information, said the finding is based on a survey carried out in March of some 4,300 companies.

The company also surveyed between February and March some 22,000 students who will graduate from college or finish graduate school in March 2004, determining that the ratio of job offers to job-seeking students climbed to 1.35 from last year's 1.30. This ratio was also the highest since 1999.

The company attributed the rise to moves by companies with good earnings or those starting new businesses to expand recruitment of college graduates.

Among business sectors, the ratio of job offers to job seekers came to 1.59 in the manufacturing sector, including automakers, and 4.69 in the distribution sector.

The ratio was lower, at 0.35, in the financial services sector, and at 0.44 in the services and information sector.

The number of students hoping to work at private firms after graduation totaled 433,700, up 0.7 percent from last year.