According to a survey of 201 global employers, the job market for management graduates may be looking up in 2013.
The survey was conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council, which administers the GMAT exam for graduate management programmes worldwide. The polled employers included 45 Fortune 500 companies.
“The 2012 Year-End Poll of Employers” found out that 76 per cent of employers expected to hire new MBA graduates in 2013. Just 69 per cent of them hired class of 2012 graduates, according to GMAC.
Of the employers planning to hire MBAs in 2013, 56 per cent plan to offer starting base salaries that keep pace with inflation or exceed it.
“Employers recognise that employees with graduate business degrees are a wise investment when times are uncertain and they need talent that not only bring skills but agility to meet the changing demands of these times,” according to Dave Wilson, president and CEO of GMAC.
The study said that hiring of experienced may go up to 86 per cent, from 83 per cent last year. But fresh graduate recruitment is projected to come down to 78 per cent, down from 80 per cent last year.
The poll also found that 43 per cent planned to hire masters in management (up from 33 per cent). Some 40 per cent intended to hire masters of accounting (up from 32 per cent) next year.
Thirty-nine per cent poll respondent expected to hire masters of finance (up from 32 per cent). Some 46 per cent said they might hire other specialised master’s degrees in business (up from 34 per cent).
The outlook for internships too appeared better for 2013. Some 85 per cent of the employers polled suggested that they planed to offer student internships in 2013, with 70 per cent planning to use undergraduate interns and 65 per cent planning to use MBA interns.