Graduate jobless rate the worst for 18 years

GRADUATE unemployment is at its highest in nearly two decades, as thousands of former students struggle to find work, new research has found.

About 21,000 students - 8.9 per cent - who left university last year were without a job six months later, as graduates suffered from the effects of the recession, according to a study by the Higher Education Careers Services Unit.

Unemployment among graduates last reached similar levels in 1992-93, when the rate reached 11.6 per cent.

The research, What Do Graduates Do? is based on data collected by the Higher Education Statistics Agency, which surveyed 82 per cent of last year's graduates to find who was employed, in further study or out of work.

The findings show that the public sector was one of the few areas to weather the recession, continuing to recruit graduates. Announcements of cuts in the sector, however, could mean this is set to change.

The proportion of graduates gaining work as health professionals and associate professionals rose by 0.2 per cent to 14.8 per cent, while the percentage employed in the social and welfare sector increased by 0.5 per cent to 5.2 per cent. But there was a 0.1 per cent drop in the proportion of students gaining employment in education.

The findings show that both retail and marketing increased their graduate intake last year, while graduates with degrees in geography, law and psychology also fared well. All three subjects had unemployment rates lower than the average - 7.4, 6.2 and 8.3 per cent respectively.

But information technology graduates were hit hard, as the proportion unemployed rose to 16.3 per cent. Engineering, and building management subjects, also saw an increase in unemployment. Jobless rates among architecture graduates rose to 10.9 per cent, civil engineering to 11.9 per cent and electrical and electronic engineering to 13.3 per cent.

The research comes months after a warning that Scottish university leavers are entering the bleakest employment market in a decade, with nearly 70 people chasing each graduate job.

According to the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), more than half of the class of 2010 are likely to be left with stop-gap work as the backlog of graduates from 2008 and 2009 competes for a dwindling number of posts.

Based on data from 199 of the UK's biggest graduate employers, the AGR said there would be an average of slightly more than 68 graduates applying for each post, up from 48 last year and 31 the year before.

At more than half the firms surveyed there were at least 50 applicants for each vacancy, and some said they had attracted more than 500 applications per job.

Stricter recruitment conditions are being imposed as competition hots up, with more than three-quarters of employers now demanding a 2:1 degree as a minimum.Less than half of Scots graduates achieve this.

The study showed that while many graduates struggled to find work, salaries did rise marginally, to an average of 19,695 in 2009, from 19,677 in 2009.

Scottish entrepreneur Sir Tom Farmer encouraged graduates not to give up. He said: "You have spent the last three or four years studying, which shows that you are willing to put the effort in - that you have motivation and organisational skills - and companies are still looking for good people.

"You just need to keep knocking on doors, not giving up and being flexible. You need to keep looking for opportunities and building entrepreneurial skills."

Liam Burns, president of NUS Scotland said: "It is an incredibly tough time for graduates.

"But when it comes to employment and prospects, graduates still have a huge advantage over non-graduates, so these figures should not be an excuse to cut university places."