The most recent GMAC press release shared new data from the company’s Year-End Poll of Employers, including the following highlights:
• 72% of employers polled plan to hire b-school graduates, up slightly from this past year’s 71%.
• 87% plan on hiring direct-from-industry hires in 2014, up 5% from 2013’s 82%.
• The percentage of those who plan to hire master in management grads in 2014 also increased 5%, from 37% in 2013 to 42%.
• 87% plan on increasing (43%) or maintaining (43%) the number of hires in 2014 from this past year.
• 56% of employers plan on increasing annual base salaries for MBAs in 2014. 45% plan this increase at the rate of inflation and 11% plan to increase above the rate of inflation.
• 61% of employers plan on hiring MBA interns in 2014
• 85% of employers met or exceeded their MBA hiring plans for 2013.
Take-aways
While it’s not time to break out the champagne, these stats show a steady and solid state in employer recruiting of business graduates with basically marginal improvement in hiring numbers. Salary stats are pretty flat. Continuing a trend I commented on last year, masters in management grads are seeing the greatest increase in demand. For college seniors and early career applicants, that program could be a really attractive option. (For more info on Duke’s MiM program, please see Admissions Straight Talk: Interview with Sheryle Dirks.)
To me this report says that b-schools are going to have to pull back on tuition increases, which have exceeded the rate of inflation for years. If they don’t, they will kill the ROI that lay the golden egg called the MBA.
But for current MBA students and probably for this year’s applicants, ROI is positive, employers are hiring, and things are looking good. Just not yet ready for the bubbly or excessive exuberance.
By Linda Abraham, president and founder of Accepted.com and co-author of the new, definitive book on MBA admissions, MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools.
Accepted.com's experienced admissions consultants can help you create the most impressive application possible with comprehensive packages, or provide targeted assistance from picking perfect programs to designing a dazzling resume, constructing engaging essays, or preparing for intense interviews…and more! Accepted.com has guided thousands of applicants to acceptances at top MBA programs since 1994 – we know what works and what doesn't, so contact us to get started now!
This article originally appeared on the Accepted Admissions Consulting Blog, the official blog of Accepted.com.
