2009 Grads See Stable Salaries, Fewer Jobs
July 21, 2009
Suzanne Heibel--HispanicBusiness.com
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The college graduating class of 2009 will see salary rates on par with the class of 2008 despite the tougher job market, according to a July 2009 report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). Although 2009 graduate salaries averaged $49,307, down less than 1 percent from $49,693 in 2008, an earlier report from NACE showed that less than 20 percent of 2009 grads that applied for a job actually got one, compared to the class of 2008 and 2007's respective 26 percent and 51 percent.
Those who graduated with degrees in business or liberal arts saw essentially no change in salary rates, maintaining annual pay of around $47,000 and $36,000, respectively. Those majors that saw the largest drops in salary were computer-science related majors and sociology majors, which saw pay rates fall 5 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively.
Computer scientists themselves, however, did well, posting a 1.6 percent salary increase to more than $61,000 per year. Engineers did best overall, seeing overall annual pay climb to nearly $60,000, with chemical and computer engineers seeing respective pay raises of 2.7 percent and 3.6 percent, equaling more than $64,000 and $61,000 a year. Finance and marketing majors also fared well despite the economic downturn, both boasting about a 3 percent higher salary from 2008 grads, up to $50,000 and $43,000 a year.
While salaries stayed relatively constant from 2008, only 6 out of 10 2009 grads began applying for jobs straight of out school, down 5 percent from 2008 and 2007. More 2009 grads opted to attend graduate school than find a job. Analysts at NACE expect that this decrease can be attributed to the tough job market, which is both hiring fewer employees and cutting salaries. The small decrease in salaries for new grads may also indicate that students are more likely to accept a lower salary than their predecessors were, simply because the job market is more competitive.
Source: HispanicBusiness.com (c) 2009. All rights reserved.
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