Number of graduate jobs increases by 0.9%

Undergraduates who are finishing their courses this year will have a larger pool of graduate jobs to choose from, according to the latest statistics.

According to a report by graduate recruitment research firm High Fliers' there is a 0.9% increase in jobs for graduates in 2012, compared to figures for 2011.

Despite this promising news this increase is still below the 6.4% forecasted by key graduate employers at the start of the year.

340,000 thousand degree holders are expected to enter the graduate talent pool this summer with 52 expected to vie for each graduate job.

Further findings from the data show that there has been an increase in the number of applicants for graduate jobs, with an 11% increase recorded for those bidding for roles with the Times' top 100 graduate employers. This is an increase of 25% compared to three years ago.

The majority of employers are also looking for candidates that hold a minimum of a 2:1 degree, with seven out of ten employers looking for this requirement.

The research also highlighted that while the number of graduate vacancies has risen in several areas, they have fallen in others. The IT and telecommunications sector saw the largest drop in graduate vacancies, falling by 39% while graduate roles in the public sector fell by 20.8%.

Graduate vacancies in the media industry (down by 20%) and the consulting sector (down by 31.4%) have also fallen.

Speaking to Channel 4 news, Martin Birchall, director of High Fliers, said:

"There's been nothing but bad news over the last six months and the fear was that employers would cut back," he told Channel 4 News. "The report reflects how employers feel over the next couple of years, and it means they are reasonably confident about how things might be in a year or two."

Source: Gradplus.com, Wednesday 4th July 2012