Employment rates for recent U.S. MBA graduates hit a five-year high, with 95 percent of the Class of 2013 employed by September 2013, according to a recent survey by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). Worldwide, 90 percent of 2013 graduates were employed three months out from graduation, down slightly from the 92 percent of last year’s graduates employed by September 2012.
MBA hiring this year was more sluggish in Europe, where only 82 percent of graduates secured jobs by September 2013, according to GMAT. But European graduates of one-year MBA programs reported the highest median starting salaries of all those surveyed – US$101,093. The median starting annual salary for U.S. graduates of two-year MBA programs in 2013 was US$90,000, with a bonus and additional compensation of US$10,000. U.S. graduates of part-time MBA programs reported a median annual salary of US$85,000.
“In spite of the slow, uneven economic recovery around the world, the job outlook for business degree-holders is holding fairly steady,” Gregg Schoenfeld, director of management education research for GMAC, said in a statement. “Regardless of employment status, the vast majority of alumni from the class of 2013 believe their education developed their skills, expanded their network, and prepared them for the job market,” he added. Indeed, 74 percent of 2013 survey respondents who landed jobs said they couldn’t have done so without the MBA degree.
The results, announced this week, were gathered as part of a follow-up poll to the GMAC Global Management Education Graduate Survey, an exit survey of MBA students conducted last February and March. In total, 915 alumni from 129 business schools worldwide responded to the follow-up poll in September.
Read the complete GMAC report on Class of 2013 MBA employment figures.
