If you graduated in business or commerce in 1998, the odds are you would have gone directly into the marketplace. Some 69 per cent of graduates were employed on April 30th, 1999. Of those employed in Ireland, 78 per cent were in private services, 6 per cent in the public services and 15 per cent in manufacturing and non-service industries.

As for salaries, some 46 per cent of business and commerce graduates were earning between £11,000 and £17,000, with 0.6 per cent earning less than £5,000 and 5.5 per cent earning more than £19,000.

Almost one quarter of graduates went on to further research, study or training. This includes 1.2 per cent who opted for teacher training.