| Press Release | 29 May 2001 |
HKUST Releases 2000 Graduate Job Survey
Graduates from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) are receiving more job offers and higher pay thanks to the economic recovery and an increase in job opportunities, a survey has revealed.
According to the 2000 Graduate Employment Survey conducted by HKUST's Career Center, more than 98% of Class of 2000 graduates had found jobs, started businesses or been accepted for further studies by December last year.
Of the 1,792 respondents, 86% were engaged in full-time employment or business start-ups, an increase of 2.5% from the previous year. Only six graduates (0.3%) were doing temporary or part-time jobs, while 11% were pursuing further studies.
This year's graduates received higher salaries, got more job offers and obtained their first job offer at an earlier time than 1999 graduates. Their mean gross monthly income was HK$12,553, up 10% from the previous year.
"A persistent economic recovery and a booming information technology industry are the main reasons for the employment success of our graduates," said Dr Isaac Tam, Senior Student Counselor of Student Affairs Office. "Our graduates are highly sought after in the IT industry, where the demand for computer programmers, software engineers and system administrators is strong, with salaries going up by 16%."
The unemployment rate rose slightly from 1.8% to 2.1%. Of the 37 graduates who were unemployed at the time of the survey, 23 or 62% had actually received job offers but chosen not to accept them. Of the 1,534 respondents, 72% got more than one offer, 43% more than two and 22% more than three, representing an increase of 6%, 7% and 5% respectively. 92% of the graduates had received their first offer by August, compared with 83% in 1999. By October, the percentage rose to 99%.
Business continued to be the largest employment sector, drawing 74% of the graduates, up 5% from 1999. This was followed by manufacturing (14%), education (5%), construction (4%), government (2%) and social services (2%).
In terms of job nature, more graduates (26%) were taking up jobs in systems analysis and computer programming, an increase of 5% over the previous year. 17% were employed in marketing and sales, 17% in engineering, 12% in accounting, and 9% in administration and management.
The survey covered a total of 1,828 bachelor's degree recipients. The response rate was 98%.
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