Since 1991, the percentage of employed graduates taking jobs in business and industry has increased by about two-thirds, from 7.5% of jobs in 1991 to an estimated 12.3% in 2000. This percentage reached an historic high of 14.2% in 1998. Translated into job counts, the 4,000 or more jobs taken in business and industry in each of the past five yars is more than double the number in 1991.
It should be noted that some of the increase in job counts may be attributable to increased reporting of graduate employment over the years. Also, because the reporting of jobs as "legal" and "other" within the business realm is not entirely consistent, the absolute numbers should be viewed with caution. Nonetheless, they do provide a basis for comparisons of the orders of magnitude involved. As the chart below shows, heightened interest shown in JD's by accounting firms, insurance companies, and financial institutions has translated into substantial increases in the number of these jobs taken by new graduates compared with ten years ago. This is true despite a decline in recent years in the number of accounting and financial jobs taken.
1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000* | |
Total | 1926 | 2263 | 2689 | 3241 | 3760 | 4149 | 4413 | 4388 | 4247 | 3952 |
Accounting-legal | 133 | 153 | 150 | 153 | 194 | 213 | 243 | 243 | 281 | 189 |
Accounting-other | 87 | 98 | 120 | 125 | 197 | 202 | 264 | 328 | 267 | 229 |
Banking-legal | 71 | 96 | 120 | 121 | 141 | 179 | 175 | 178 | 144 | 132 |
Banking-other | 84 | 119 | 181 | 194 | 230 | 265 | 301 | 300 | 302 | 246 |
Insurance-legal | 109 | 139 | 149 | 149 | 154 | 165 | 166 | 169 | 131 | 241 |
Insurance-other | 71 | 97 | 103 | 130 | 158 | 183 | 171 | 146 | 147 | 225 |
Fortune 500-legal | 176 | 206 | 195 | 232 | 270 | 254 | 265 | 259 | 209 | 102 |
Fortune 500-other | 115 | 111 | 119 | 139 | 211 | 259 | 263 | 260 | 214 | 120 |
Note: Figures for specific categories include both full and part-time jobs, but exclude a few jobs for which the type, e.g. legal or other, was not reported.
*2000 figures are provisional and will change by a small amount.