Percentage of Bach elor Degree Recipients with Full-Time Employment
The results, included in the University of Georgia’s “Annual Survey of Journalism and Mass Communication Graduates” reveal that just 55.5% of 2009 journalism and communication graduates with a bachelor degree were able to find full-time work within a year of leaving school. That is down 4.9 percentage points from the year before and stands in stark contrast with the 70.2% of graduates who found work as recently as 2007. The most recent masters degree recipients fared little better, with their employment rate dropping to 61.9% from 65.4% in 2008.
This daunting job market was further compounded by stagnating salaries and eroding benefits, according to the survey. The median annual wage for full-time employed 2009 bachelor degree recipients again stood at $30,000, the same number it has been since 2006, although inflation edged up in the past year. At the same time, benefits continued to be cut across the board, with only 52.9% of the 2009 employed grads receiving major medical coverage at work compared with 59.2% the previous year. Dental coverage fell from 56.7% to 50.3%, and life insurance benefits dropped from 49.1% to 41.7%.
Percentage of Bach elor Degree Recipients with Full-Time Employment  | 90  | 80  | 70  | 60  | I  | 50  | 40  | 30  | 20  | 10  | Q  | 2008  | 2000  | 2001  | 2002  | 2003  | 2004  | 2005  | 2006  | 2007  | 2009  | Source: University of Georgia 