(FORTUNE Magazine) – The sluggish U.S. economy means bad news for the class of 1990. Some of the biggest hirers of college grads, including General Motors and IBM, didn't interview job seekers at all on campuses this spring. IBM, which normally recruits at more than 250 schools and took on 3,600 grads in 1989, has put a virtual freeze on college hires as part of its effort to trim the work force. GM, which is also under pressure to cut its white-collar payroll, limited its hiring this year to 880 students, about 600 of whom already had GM scholarships or internships. Some companies are hiring at about last year's rate, including Du Pont and Ford Motor. But, says Victor Lindquist, director of placement for Northwestern University: ''Several major players have taken themselves out of the job market. It's going to be quite competitive for the new grads.'' Starting salaries aren't keeping up with inflation. The average first-year salary for bachelor's degree graduates is expected to rise 3.3% to $25,256 in 1990, while Fortune believes the inflation rate will grow to 5.5%. Jobs in big cities pay more, but living expenses are higher too. Engineers are in the greatest demand and consequently get the best starting pay (see table). More than half the several hundred grads hired by Ford this year majored in mechanical or electrical engineering. One of them was Bonnie Holz, 23, a mechanical engineering major from Michigan State University, who is a trouble-shooter at Ford's body assembly plant in Chicago. Says she: ''Most of my friends who majored in engineering had jobs coming out of school.'' Graduates of the top B-schools are also holding their own. For example, consulting firms grabbed about 20% of Kellogg's 772 grads, up from 15% last year.

BOX: WHAT NEW HIRES ARE MAKING

GRADUATE DEGREES AVERAGE INCREASE SALARY FROM 1989 MBA $39,840 3.1% Other master's $33,740 3.3% BACHELOR'S DEGREES Chemical engineering $33,380 3.0% Mechanical engineering $32,256 3.2% Computer science $31,389 2.7% Nursing $27,358 1.4% Accounting $27,051 2.9% Social science $21,310 1.4% Education $20,650 2.3%

SOURCE: MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY