Good news for job- and internship-seeking students at Kansas University: Employer interest is on the rise.

More than 100 employers have signed up to participate in Wednesday afternoon’s Fall Engineering and Computer Science Fair, up more than 50 percent from the fall event last year.

Among them is Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., whose chairman, president and chief executive officer made a special trip to campus a week ago to deliver a speech – and call for aspiring KU graduates to consider working on the railroad.

The company is hiring 5,000 people each year as the railroad expands to keep up with demand for U.S. freight services, Matt Rose said during his Lawrence visit. The entire railroad industry has hired 60,000 people during the past five years, and it shows no signs of letting up as overseas markets – especially China – and domestic energy needs surge forward.

“We’re hiring at record levels,” Rose said. “We are out hiring people left and right. We want people to come and work for us, and we want them to retire from us.”

The robust market isn’t limited to the engineering world.

KU’s School of Business already has run out of room for its annual Business Career Fair, expected to draw 1,200 students to visit with 124 employers Thursday at the Kansas Union – where, for the first time, booths will stretch onto the sixth floor.

The number of employers signed up to occupy the Kansas Ballroom, Jayhawk Room, Big 12 Room and – new this year – Kansas Room is up 22 percent from a year ago.

“We’re outgrowing our space,” said Jennifer Jordan, director of business career services. “It’s a positive sign of the times.”

The numbers far surpass the nationwide increases revealed by a study released this month by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. The survey found that employers planned to boost their participation in campus career fairs by 3.5 percent this year.

Employers plan to increase the number of new college hires this year by 17.4 percent, with the primary factor being their own companies’ growth.

Cathy Schwabauer, director of the Engineering Career Center at KU, said growth in oil and natural gas industries had helped prompt increased demand for engineering graduates.

“It’s pretty strong across the board,” she said. “We are very excited about all the companies that are coming.”