MBA Job and Salary Prospects Promising

Research into the MBA job landscape for 2012 has found that more companies are looking to hire more MBAs, for higher salaries.

The Graduate Management Admission Council’s (GMAC) 2011 Year-End Poll of Employers found that out of the 216 companies it surveyed, 74% of them planned to hire MBAs during 2012, increasing from 58% of the sample that hired at least one MBA during 2011. Further, 22% of responding companies expected to increase the number of positions available to MBA graduates during 2012.

“Job prospects next year for MBA candidates... are promising,” GMAC’s report states. “Nearly three-quarters (74%) of companies report they plan to hire MBA candidates in 2012, compared to the 58% of employers who hired at least one MBA candidate in 2011.”

The positive findings of GMAC’s report provide further evidence that businesses around the world are looking toward MBA talent in order to help ensure their interests remain profitable during a tougher economic climate.

Earlier this year, the TopMBA.com Jobs and Salary Trends Report, with a greater sample of 12,100 companies around the world found a 36% growth in MBA demand worldwide during 2011.

Looking ahead to 2012, the TopMBA.com report found recruiters to have further MBA hiring plans around the world. In North America, MBA hiring is expected to increase by 10%, Latin America 13%, Western Europe 7%, Eastern Europe 14%, Africa and the Middle East 7%, and Asia-Pacific 19%.

MBA salaries remain strong

MBA employer commentary submitted to GMAC during its survey was varied.

“While [the] economic/business climate is tough, the competition to hire new grads is heating up and companies are trying to engage students earlier each year,” explains one employer.

Another states that, in their view “the current job market for graduating business school students is still unstable, though it is gradually recovering after the crisis.”

Many of the MBA employers responding to GMAC’s survey also reported that they expected to increase the level of remuneration offered to the MBAs they hire.

“Nearly a third (32%) of companies planning to hire MBAs in 2012 expect to increase the annual base salary of these hires compared with 2011,” GMAC explains in its report. “In addition, 65% of companies plan to keep starting salaries at the same level as those offered in 2011.”

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