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One in 10 graduates are still out of work after six months - and it's not going to get any easier
By Sarah Harris
Last updated at 11:30 AM on 1st November 2010
Graduate unemployment is at its highest level in nearly two decades, research reveals today. More than 21,000 students – almost one in ten – who graduated last year were still without work six months later. And 55,000 ended up in stop-gap jobs such as stacking shelves or working in bars.
Tough times: The Government's squeeze on the private sector could make it even harder for graduates to find work
The findings suggest that sixth-formers struggling to get into university next year ahead of a rise in tuition fees may struggle to avoid the dole queue after finishing their studies. As the Government’s squeeze on the public sector starts to take hold, it is expected to become even harder for graduates to get jobs.
Thousands more could be put off higher education when the Coalition increases annual tuition fees from the current £3,290 to as much as £9,000 from September 2012. It has been estimated that some students’ debt could reach £80,000 when the reforms are introduced.
Bright future? Already heavily in debt, many graduates are getting by on stop-gap jobs such as stacking shelves.
Graduate unemployment rose by one per cent to 8.9 per cent in 2009 – or 21,020 students who left university last year, according to the Higher Education Careers Service Unit (HECSU). This is the highest rate since 1992 when graduate unemployment reached 11.6 per cent. In 2008 – at the peak of the recession – graduate unemployment levels rose by 2.4 per cent to 7.9 per cent.
The number securing graduate-level jobs also fell 3.3 per cent to 62.4 per cent in 2009. This means that one in three graduates either ended up on the dole or resorted to jobs for which they were likely to be over-qualified such as working as secretaries or in call centres. Some were doing internships in an attempt to get a graduate job.
HECSU found that last year’s IT graduates were hardest hit, with unemployment rising from 13.7 per cent in 2008 to 16.3 per cent. Those attempting to get construction and engineering jobs also struggled. The unemployment rate for new architects rose to 10.9 per cent.
It was 11.9 per cent for civil engineering graduates, 13.3 per cent for electrical engineering and 11.8 per cent for mechanical engineering. Unemployment among media studies graduates rocketed from 2.6 per cent to 14.6 per cent. The HECSU report says plans to cut public spending could have a ‘significant effect’ and ‘disproportionately affect graduates in general and new graduates outside London in particular’.
Ernst & Young, one of the biggest recruiters, said it had more than 4,500 applications for the 700 places available on its 2011 graduate training programme. University applications for degree courses starting next year ahead of the new fees regime have gone up by 4.2 per cent. The National Union of Students said: ‘These latest figures show that students are graduating into the bleakest employment market for decades.’
