The job market for journalism and mass communication graduates continued to improve last year, according to the latest annual survey of graduates conducted by the University of Georgia.

The results of the 2005 Annual Survey of Journalism and Mass Communication Graduates were presented along with findings from three related surveys by University of Georgia Professor Lee B. Becker and his colleague, Tudor Vlad, at a research panel Friday afternoon.

Becker said the surveys are conducted on an annual basis to help students, professionals and educators monitor trends in journalism, public relations and other communication fields. Becker is the director of the University of Georgia’s James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training & Research.

For example, Becker said one of the studies, the “Survey of Doctoral Programs in Communication,” is used to “help the field create a more diverse faculty representing students.”

“Right now,” Becker said, “it’s disproportionately white and disproportionately male.”

Becker began his research presentation with a report on the 2005 Annual Survey of Journalism & Mass Communication Graduates. He said students – undergraduate and graduate alike – use the information to determine employment and salary prospects after graduating.

Becker said the job market overall is strong for graduates, and he said it is experiencing recovery after the economy took a dip five years ago.

This is the second year job interviews and job offers have improved for students, Becker said, although he noted that employers were not spending as much money on mass communication and journalism professionals.

Salaries for recent graduates increased over the previous year, but inflation erased those gains for graduates of bachelor’s programs. Master’s degree recipients were able to stay slightly ahead of inflation.

Bachelor’s degree recipients in 2005 reported a median annual salary of $29,000, up from $27,800 in 2004, according to the study. Master’s degree recipients earned a median salary of $37,000, up from $33,000 the previous year.

Becker said he noticed a small drop in employers’ willingness to hire graduate-level professionals, due to the cost.

In addition, University of Georgia researchers found that students were apprehensive about choosing journalism and mass communication careers because of the turmoil in those fields, said Vlad, the assistant director for the Cox Center.

As a result, Vlad said they asked graduates to make a prediction about the future of the industry in one of their surveys.

“What was surprising to me,” Vlad said, “was how optimistic students seem to be. They think jobs will grow. … They think they will always find jobs 20 years from now.”

Other interesting findings from the surveys included job growth for women and increasing jobs in the television industry.

“It’s always interesting to see what the trends are with student enrollment and the job market,” said Karen M. Markin, director of research development at the University of Rhode Island.

Markin said she analyzes research to promote collaborative communication between different academic disciplines.

The Annual Survey of Journalism & Mass Communication Graduates and the Survey of Editors and News Directors can be accessed online at grady.uga.edu/annualsurveys/.