Skip Navigation
Digest of Education Statistics
2016 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 505.50. Percentage, selected employment characteristics, and annual salaries of bachelor's degree recipients employed full time 1 year after graduation, by field of study: 1991, 2001, and 2009
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Selected employment characteristic and annual salary All fields of study1 Engineering Biological and physical sciences2 Mathematics and computer science2 Social sciences and history Humanities Health professions Business and management Education3 Psychology Public affairs and social services
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Employment characteristics                                            
                                             
Percent of recipients employed full time                                            
1989-90 recipients in June 1991 73.8 (0.36) 85.2 (0.95) 50.6 (1.72) 71.2 (1.30) 66.2 (0.94) 59.2 (1.32) 80.9 (1.35) 83.2 (0.57) 77.0 (0.74) 59.8 (1.64) 77.0 (2.06)
1999-2000 recipients in July 2001 76.5 (0.52) 86.0 (1.77) 58.6 (2.04) 83.7 (2.06) 68.3 (1.88) 67.5 (1.65) 74.8 (1.50) 85.5 (1.27) 84.0 (1.29) 64.0 (2.64) 85.1 (2.25)
2007-08 recipients in June 2009 65.0 (0.62) 76.1 (2.12) 49.0 (2.38) 75.1 (2.67) 58.0 (1.81) 50.4 (1.82) 68.5 (1.86) 77.2 (1.20) 70.6 (1.75) 46.6 (2.40) 69.8 (3.44)
                                             
Percent of full-time employees
      looking for a different job4
                                           
1989-90 recipients in June 1991 21.5 (0.35) 12.9 (1.05) 21.0 (1.95) 16.6 (1.08) 24.5 (1.20) 25.8 (1.44) 9.2 (1.10) 20.7 (0.78) 25.5 (0.92) 21.8 (1.57) 26.8 (2.36)
1999-2000 recipients in July 2001 24.6 (0.66) 19.2 (2.30) 22.9 (2.64) 18.3 (2.36) 27.1 (2.06) 28.3 (2.13) 20.9 (1.93) 24.4 (1.51) 17.4 (1.45) 23.9 (2.54) 25.8 (2.80)
2007-08 recipients in June 2009 31.2 (0.74) 20.2 (2.53) 28.5 (3.47) 27.7 (3.37) 35.3 (2.47) 39.2 (2.56) 21.8 (2.40) 32.0 (1.61) 23.6 (1.78) 37.3 (2.99) 30.4 (4.86)
                                             
Percent of full-time employees in job
      closely related to field of study
                                           
1989-90 recipients in June 1991 52.5 (0.55) 57.5 (1.24) 49.4 (2.31) 66.4 (1.34) 20.2 (1.12) 32.2 (2.07) 88.2 (2.10) 49.8 (0.79) 79.2 (0.89) 40.3 (2.13) 57.6 (2.56)
1999-2000 recipients in July 2001 56.1 (0.65) 70.0 (3.35) 48.6 (3.00) 72.7 (2.58) 28.7 (2.03) 41.5 (2.16) 77.5 (2.45) 58.7 (1.67) 84.3 (1.68) 40.1 (3.65) 61.2 (3.11)
2007-08 recipients in June 2009 49.7 (0.78) 61.3 (2.86) 49.0 (3.36) 61.9 (3.57) 21.6 (2.07) 27.6 (2.56) 81.7 (2.10) 49.3 (1.76) 82.0 (1.68) 26.6 (3.04) 57.2 (4.93)
                                             
Annual salaries of full-time employees5                                             
                                             
Average salary, in current dollars                                            
1989-90 recipients in June 1991 $23,600 (180) $30,900 (390) $21,100 (410) $27,200 (400) $22,100 (330) $19,100 (350) $31,500 (860) $24,700 (330) $19,100 (140) $19,200 (310) $20,900 (470)
1999-2000 recipients in July 2001 35,400 (300) 47,900 (840) 31,000 (710) 47,400 (1,080) 33,000 (700) 30,100 (690) 39,400 (1,110) 41,000 (860) 27,600 (370) 28,800 (990) 30,400 (1,030)
2007-08 recipients in June 2009 40,100 (340) 53,900 (1,080) 34,600 (1,220) 48,800 (1,570) 36,600 (980) 31,100 (780) 49,100 (1,290) 44,200 (890) 33,000 (490) 30,600 (910) 35,000 (1,700)
                                             
Average salary, in constant 2015 dollars                                            
1989-90 recipients in June 1991 $41,100 (310) $53,800 (680) $36,600 (720) $47,300 (690) $38,500 (580) $33,200 (620) $54,700 (1,500) $43,100 (570) $33,300 (240) $33,300 (550) $36,300 (810)
1999-2000 recipients in July 2001 47,400 (400) 64,200 (1,120) 41,500 (960) 63,500 (1,450) 44,100 (940) 40,300 (930) 52,800 (1,490) 54,900 (1,150) 37,000 (490) 38,600 (1,330) 40,700 (1,380)
2007-08 recipients in June 2009 44,300 (380) 59,600 (1,200) 38,300 (1,340) 53,900 (1,740) 40,400 (1,090) 34,400 (860) 54,300 (1,430) 48,800 (980) 36,400 (540) 33,800 (1,010) 38,700 (1,880)
                                             
Percent change in average salary, in
      constant 2015 dollars
                                           
1991 to 2009 7.6 (—) 10.6 (—) 4.4 (—) 14.1 (—) 5.1 (—) 3.5 (—) -0.8 (—) 13.2 (—) 9.5 (—) 1.5 (—) 6.6 (—)
1991 to 2001 15.2 (—) 19.2 (—) 13.2 (—) 34.3 (—) 14.7 (—) 21.4 (—) -3.6 (—) 27.4 (—) 11.2 (—) 15.8 (—) 12.1 (—)
2001 to 2009 -6.6 (—) -7.2 (—) -7.7 (—) -15.0 (—) -8.4 (—) -14.7 (—) 2.8 (—) -11.1 (—) -1.5 (—) -12.4 (—) -4.9 (—)
                                             
Median salary, in current dollars                                            
1989-90 recipients in June 1991 $21,800 (210) $31,900 (470) $20,000 (430) $27,000 (510) $20,300 (250) $18,500 (360) $30,400 (760) $23,000 (300) $19,500 (220) $18,100 (320) $18,600 (410)
1999-2000 recipients in July 2001 32,000 (90) 47,800 (880) 29,800 (470) 46,100 (1,990) 29,900 (360) 28,600 (700) 35,500 (770) 36,800 (700) 27,900 (410) 27,700 (1,180) 27,900 (710)
2007-08 recipients in June 2009 36,000 (220) 54,000 (900) 32,500 (1,570) 45,000 (1,830) 34,600 (920) 29,000 (1,060) 45,900 (920) 40,000 (300) 33,800 (570) 29,300 (1,040) 32,000 (1,430)
                                             
Median salary, in constant 2015 dollars                                            
1989-90 recipients in June 1991 $37,900 (360) $55,500 (820) $34,700 (740) $46,900 (890) $35,200 (430) $32,100 (620) $52,900 (1,330) $40,000 (520) $34,000 (380) $31,500 (560) $32,400 (710)
1999-2000 recipients in July 2001 42,800 (120) 64,000 (1,180) 39,900 (630) 61,700 (2,660) 40,000 (480) 38,300 (940) 47,500 (1,030) 49,300 (940) 37,400 (560) 37,100 (1,580) 37,400 (950)
2007-08 recipients in June 2009 39,800 (240) 59,600 (990) 35,900 (1,740) 49,700 (2,030) 38,200 (1,010) 32,000 (1,170) 50,800 (1,020) 44,200 (330) 37,400 (630) 32,400 (1,150) 35,300 (1,580)
                                             
Percent change in median salary, in
      constant 2015 dollars
                                           
1991 to 2009 4.9 (—) 7.5 (—) 3.2 (—) 6.0 (—) 8.5 (—) -0.3 (—) -4.1 (—) 10.5 (—) 10.0 (—) 2.8 (—) 9.2 (—)
1991 to 2001 12.8 (—) 15.4 (—) 14.9 (—) 31.5 (—) 13.5 (—) 19.1 (—) -10.2 (—) 23.2 (—) 10.1 (—) 17.9 (—) 15.4 (—)
2001 to 2009 -7.0 (—) -6.8 (—) -10.1 (—) -19.4 (—) -4.5 (—) -16.3 (—) 6.9 (—) -10.3 (—) -0.1 (—) -12.7 (—) -5.4 (—)
—Not available.
1 Includes graduates in other fields not separately shown.
2 For 1991, physical sciences are not included in column 4 with biological sciences; instead, they are included in column 5 with mathematics and computer science.
3 Most educators work 9- to 10-month contracts.
4 In 1991, respondents were asked whether they were "looking for a different principal job." In 2001 and 2009, they were asked whether they were "looking for a different job" (instead of "a different principal job").
5 In all years, reported salaries of full-time workers under $1,000 were excluded from the tabulations. In addition, salaries reported as above $500,000 were set to $500,000 in 2001, and salaries reported as above $250,000 were set to $250,000 in 2009. In all years, only a tiny fraction of reported full-time salaries were either below $1,000 or above $250,000.
NOTE: Data exclude bachelor's degree recipients from U.S. Service Academies, deceased graduates, and graduates living at foreign addresses at the time of the survey. Constant dollars based on the Consumer Price Index, prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Recent College Graduates" survey, 1991; and 2000/01 and 2008/09 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01 and B&B:08/09). (This table was prepared September 2016.)

2016 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest