NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- More college graduates are heading straight into new jobs this year, a study from a college employment group showed Thursday.
The number of college seniors who already have post-graduation jobs lined up jumped to 24.4% this year, up from 19.7% of the graduating class of 2009, according to a study from the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
While the increase in graduate employment is a positive trend, the uptick may be a result of more students accepting the jobs they are offered as they realize how tough it is to find a job in this economy, Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director, said in a prepared statement.
It turns out that while more graduates have jobs waiting for them, employers actually extended slightly fewer job offers to this year's graduating class.
NACE said that 39% of students in the graduating class of 2010 said they had received job offers, and 59% of those students took the jobs.
Last year, 40% of graduates were offered jobs, but only 45% accepted the offers.
"There appears to be a greater awareness of the economic realities among this year's graduates, and greater flexibility in the types of jobs they will consider," said Mackes. 
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