More employers plan to hire MBAs and other business school graduates this year, continuing a strong upward trend, according to a global survey of corporate recruiters by the Graduate Management Admission Council, which owns and administrates the GMAT exam. Globally, 84% of employers plan to hire MBAs in 2015, up from 74% in 2014 and 73% in 2013. Five years ago, 62% of employers planned such hiring.

In the US, 92% of companies plan to hire MBA graduates in 2015, up from 80% that hired MBAs in 2014. The proportion of US companies with plans to hire specialized business master’s candidates in 2015 is 12 to 16 percentage points higher than the share of companies that hired them in 2014, according to the report.

“The MBA, as an area of study valued by employers, is showing more strength than ever with hiring of new graduates projected to rise for the third year in a row,” said GMAC President and CEO Sangeet Chowfla. “Employer demand for recent business school graduates, notably those skilled in data analytics, continues to increase as companies expect these new workers to use data to drive business decisions starting the moment they’re hired.”

Globally, more than half of employers will increase starting salaries for new MBA hires in 2015; 30% of companies will increase at the rate of inflation and 21% will increase such salaries more than the rate of inflation.

In the US, the median starting salary expected in 2015 for recent MBA graduates is $100,000. This represents an increase of $5,000 over 2014 salaries and is nearly double the expected starting salary of $55,000 for bachelor's candidates in 2015, according to the report.

Depending upon the degree earned, employers expect recent graduate business candidates to have a median average of two to four years of prior work experience.

GMAC’s research also found notable growth in the demand for data analytics, with 51% of all companies surveyed globally stating that they plan to hire for this job function in 2015, up from 44% last year. When asked to list three skills employers look for in business school graduates this year, analytics was the most frequently mentioned skill.

The Graduate Management Admission Council, the European Foundation for Management Development and the MBA Career Services and Employer Alliance surveyed 748 employers in 47 countries.