Employers hired fewer graduates even before recession

Published on Thursday 2 July 2009 21:51

RISING numbers of recent graduates failed to find a job last summer – even before the recession took hold, according to statistics published yesterday.

Eight per cent of students leaving full-time first degree courses last year were not in employment – up from 6 per cent in both 2006/07 and 2005/06.

The figures are expected to soar this summer as the recession means that employers are cutting staff and no longer recruiting, so reducing the job prospects of thousands of recent graduates.

A survey of the Top 100 graduate employers published earlier this week found that vacancies for students leaving university this summer have been cut by 28 per cent.

Yesterday's statistics, published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa), revealed 16,835 graduates did not find a job after leaving university last summer.

Unemployment among men was higher than among women – at 8 per cent compared to 5 per cent.

The level of unemployment among postgraduates was 4 per cent, up from 3 per cent in 2006/07.

Unemployment rates varied between subjects. While medicine, dentistry and education had low rates of unemployment, others such as mass communication, documentation and computer science had much higher rates.

UK shadow universities secretary David Willetts said: "These figures show yet again that young people are the biggest victims of the recession.

"The employment rate of graduates was falling even before the recession took hold. We now have record levels of young people not in education, employment or training. Ministers are letting our young people down."