Only 86% of this year's Harvard MBA grads seeking jobs have secured them — down from 96% two years ago

• There's a slowdown in the job market for recent MBA graduates, data from top-tier schools show.
• Recent grads are having a harder time snagging full-time offers  than a couple of years ago.
• But in better news for those with MBAs, median starting salaries have increased.

The job market for recent MBA grads is tough right now — even for those who attended some of the world's top business schools. 

At Harvard Business School, only 86% of those seeking employment from this year's graduating class received an offer, according to recent figures.

The figures mark a a significant slowdown in job placement rates for HBS graduates compared to prior years. For the class of 2022, approximately 95% of those seeking a job got offers, and 96% from the class of 2021, according to the data.

It isn't just impacting students at Harvard. At Stanford's Graduate School of Business, only around 89% of the most recent class seeking a job had an offer by the three month mark, according to a report from Stanford GSB. That's a drop from last year, when 93% of MBA holders had an offer three months after graduation.

University of Chicago's Booth School of Business data show job placement rates this year are also down slightly compared to 2022.

The declining rates come as industries that typically recruit MBA grads — like tech and consulting — are tamping down their pace of hiring. Consulting firms like Bain and Ernst & Young have delayed start dates for new hires while business remains slow. Meanwhile, tech companies have also pulled back on hiring, or are even implementing hiring freezes, as they seek to cut-costs post-pandemic.

Many firms are taking a "'wait and see" approach to new hires amid an uncertain market, Barbara Coward, the founder of MBA admissions consulting firm MBA 360, told the Financial Times.

But while the limbo period between graduating and starting a new job has likely been stressful for recent grads, it has also presented some with new opportunities to travel or take on roles they might not have considered otherwise, Kristen Fitzpatrick, managing director of MBA career and professional development at Harvard, told the FT.

Those who decided to forgo the job hunt at Harvard (just under a third of the class of 2023) were either starting their own business, already employed, or continuing their education. No one in the graduating class said they were simply postponing their job search, the report showed.

And the silver lining is the roles that prospective workers are waiting for might be worth it. Starting salaries for recent MBA graduates have seen a notable jump in recent years. Employee wage expectations have also hit a new high this year.

The median starting salary for Harvard Business School graduates this year is $175,000, representing a marked increase from 2021's $150,000. At Stanford GSB, the median 2023 salary is just over $182,000, compared to just over $158,000 in 2021.

Are you a recent MBA grad who's looking for a job — and you haven't had luck? We want to hear from you! Contact this reporter: lvaranasi@businessinsider.com