MBA Hiring is Strong, with 4 in 5 Companies Planning to Hire Graduates in 2018.

Overall, hiring demand for recent business school graduates is strong according to the findings of GMAC’s 2018 Corporate Recruiters Survey. More than 4 in 5 responding employers (81%) report plans to hire recent MBA graduates in 2018, despite slight declines in projected hiring among US and European employers. Demand for MBA talent is strongest in Asia Pacific, where 90 percent of employers plan to make MBA hires in 2018—the same share as last year.

The survey, carried out in partnership with EFMD and the MBA Career Services and Employer Alliance (MBA CSEA), was conducted in February and March 2018 in association with career services offices at 96 participating graduate business schools worldwide. The analysis is based on responses from 1,066 employers in 42 countries.

Additional survey findings include:

• Employer plans to hire international business school graduates have softened in 2018. Forty-seven percent of US companies plan to or are willing to hire international talent in 2018, down from 55 percent that had such plans in 2017.
• Around the world, MBA graduates continue to command a salary premium relative to direct-from-industry hires and bachelor’s degree hires. US companies will offer a median starting base salary of US$105,000 to MBA graduates in 2018.
• The majority of companies outside the United States plan to hire Master in Management (MiM) graduates in 2018. Around 7 in 10 companies in Asia Pacific (73%), Europe (72%), and Latin America (69%) plan to make such hires, compared with 39 percent of US companies.
• Data analytics continues to be in high demand. Overall, 71 percent of employers plan to place recent business school graduates into data analytics roles in 2018. Thirty-five percent of companies hired Master of Data Analytics graduates in 2017 and 52 percent of companies plan to hire them in 2018.

For more, read the full summary report at gmac.com/corporaterecruiters.