Author: Oleks Movchan
Our recent The LEAD Feed article examined the factors contributing to a more complex labor market for recent graduates compared to previous years. Using data from NC TOWER, the article showed that the class of 2023 experienced a somewhat unexpected decline in first-year post-college wages.
But does this trend hold true across all fields of study? A closer look at the data shows that the wage slump is not uniform across college majors. For example, 2023 bachelor’s degree graduates in traditionally high-earning fields, such as Computer and Information Sciences, experienced some of the steepest declines in starting salaries. Surprisingly, new graduates in Mathematics and Statistics were also among the hardest hit. This unexpected pattern may reflect temporary market saturation or evolving employer expectations in tech and data-intensive sectors.
Meanwhile, some majors typically viewed as niche or less lucrative, such as Architecture and Related Services; Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender & Group Studies; and Natural Resources & Conservation, actually saw increases in starting wages, potentially indicating rising demand for their specialized skill sets.
It’s important to note that these figures reflect only first-year earnings and may not represent long-term earning potential. New graduates typically earn less early in their careers, and starting salaries can be influenced by short-term labor market conditions that don't necessarily indicate future wage trajectories. We will continue to monitor these trends to better understand how the labor market evolves for recent graduates over time.
Additional data and insights are available on NC TOWER. The dataset underlying this story can be downloaded here.