Where are the MBA Jobs? By Industry…

Just missing out this top 10 listing are the two technology subsets, IT/computer services and electronics/high technology, which have both registered a 16% rise in new opportunities this year – again, above the global growth rate average.

By factoring in two further subsets that feature in the report, telecoms and aerospace, we can see that the technology sector’s growth as a whole was fairly mixed around the world – with highs of 40% growth in Eastern Europe and 29% in the US & Canada counterbalanced by a 19% contraction of new opportunities in Latin America and a more moderate 10% rise across Asia-Pacific, producing a global growth figure that is in line with the all-industry average of 14%.     

The very highest global growth rates seen this year have come from industries with a smaller share in the MBA job market overall – construction/property, law and consumer goods register a share of around 6% between them. This is perhaps understandable given the greater ease with which one can expand from a smaller platform and is also therefore more likely to be subject to greater year-on-year fluctuation. For example, after construction/property’s bumper year this time round, hiring in the sector over the coming year is expected to return to something closer to the 12% level seen across 2013/14. 

Not far behind the year’s fastest-moving industries is the impressive growth reported by international recruiters across the consulting industry the world over – 24% growth is hugely encouraging for anyone looking to use the MBA qualification to make the switch to consultancy – as so many attending the world’s most prestigious institutions do.

This growth has come in spite of the industry registering a flat growth rate among employer respondents in Western Europe. Instead, the positive global picture has come about through rapid growth in the US & Canada (26% growth) as well as in emerging markets within Asia-Pacific (35%) and Latin America (33%).     

The consulting industry’s figure looks very much like a show of breaking free from the previous few years’ frustrations, brought on by the effects of the Great Recession – the industry posted a much more tentative 9% growth in new MBA job opportunities last year and the expectation is that a less spectacular figure, of 12%, is in the offing for next year.   

Another sector that has had a good year is that of pharmaceuticals/healthcare, although closer inspection reveals this to be a regional rather than global success story. Indeed, the sector’s 17% growth across the world can be traced in its entirety to a return to form from companies in the US & Canada. In every other region bar Latin America (where growth was marginal at 1%), there was no expansion reported whatsoever, with a 2% contraction felt by the MBA job markets in both Western Europe and Asia-Pacific.

The financial services industry claims this year’s biggest share of reported MBA jobs, yet the industry doesn’t make the top 10 list for growth this time around. However worldwide growth of 9% is a pretty good return when you consider the persistent economic difficulties and/or instability felt across many of the world’s influential markets. Indeed, the financial services industry in Western Europe and Eastern Europe grew by just 3% and 2%, respectively, bringing the global picture down in spite of the impressive increases witnessed in Asia-Pacific (15%), the US & Canada (17%) and Latin America (18%).