The line graph and the table illustrate the percentage of all Australian graduates and mathematics ones working full-time, along with their average starting salary from 2004 to 2012.
Overall, the proportion of all full-time graduates experienced a slight upward trend. Compared to maths graduates, the share of those of other specialties who worked full-time ranked first for almost the entire period. Starting salaries of all graduates, including mathematics ones, witnessed a significant increase. Grad students in mathematics, who received the same salary as other graduates at the beginning of the period, have been paid more by 2012.
The proportion of all students who were employed full-time after leaving university, not excluding those of mathematical specialty, saw an insignificant increase by the end of the period. In 2004, 80% of all graduates found a full-time job, compared to nearly 64% of mathematics graduates. The employment rate for the last ones peaked at roughly 86% in 2006, surpassing all graduates, whose share represented approximately 82%. However, by 2008, the percentage of mathematics graduates had dropped significantly and continued to decline, reaching 65% in 2012. Meanwhile, the proportion of all graduates reached a maximum of roughly 83% at the end of the period.
Starting salaries of graduates of mathematical faculties grew faster, compared to others. Both groups started at the same level of $41,000 in 2004. By 2012, mathematics graduates earned an average starting salary of $59,000, while all graduates $53,000.