The turnaround year for graduate jobs

Is the graduate jobs market finally beginning to recover from the recession? The answer appears to be a qualified yes. A report published this month says that ‘2010 has seen a small but encouraging turnaround,’ and suggests that graduate employment is beginning to recover from the impact of the economic downturn, although it is still not back to pre-recession levels.

The report, What do graduates do?, analyses what 2010 graduates were doing six months after graduation, and finds that growth in the business and financial services has created more opportunities for recent graduates. This appears to have softened the impact of the early stages of the government’s cuts in public spending.

The proportion of 2010 graduates who were unemployed six months after finishing their degrees was 8.5%, down from 8.9% for 2009 graduates. The report commented, ‘Although the unemployment of graduates in 2010 has fallen, it remains high in comparison to the levels reported at the beginning of the recession.’

Current students who are worried about their job prospects should think about developing their employability skills – skills such as teamworking and problem-solving – through work experience, volunteering and getting involved in extracurricular activities on campus.

Winners in the graduate jobs market

These findings compare employment of 2010 and 2009 graduates six months after finishing their degrees. They are taken from What do graduates do?, published by the Higher Education Careers Services Unit (HECSU) and the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS).

• The number of 2010 graduates securing employment as financial analysts was up by 45.9%
• Personnel and recruitment consultants and advisers up by 81.8%
• 30.8% increase in graduates working in marketing, advertising and sales. It’s not just marketing and advertising graduates who have benefited from this – languages graduates seem to be finding more opportunities in this sector too.

Which graduate career sectors are bearing up less well?

Cuts in public spending have begun to have an effect on graduate employment. There was no dramatic fall in recruitment of nurses, doctors and primary and secondary school teachers, but fewer graduates found work as local government clerical officers and assistants, social workers and physiotherapists.

• Fewer graduates found employment as biochemists (down 19% on the previous year’s findings) and biologists (down 18%).
• Fewer graduates found work as scientific researchers – down 29.8%. The report suggested this could be because of the decline in spending on research and development and cuts to public sector technical services.

Graduate pay

Average salaries ranged for 2010 graduates ranged from £17,720 to £23,335, according to the report. The top three professions for graduate pay were:

• Protection services officers, including in the armed forces (£25,390 to £29,390)
• Health professionals such as doctors and dentists (£25,430 to £26,955)
• Business and statistical professionals such as accountants and management consultants (£15,030 to £28,175)

How to increase your chances of getting a job

• Advice on how to boost your employability skills while you’re at university
• How and where to apply? Applications advice for internships and work experience
• Try the TARGETjobs self-assessment career planning tool to find your ideal job match
• Read about what 2009 graduates were doing six months after graduation

Posted by Alison_TARGETjobs on 8 November 2011

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