30.08.13
Recession graduates beat unemployment
Only 3.2% of 2009 graduates are unemployed, despite the recession. A new survey from the Higher Education Statistics Agency shows a lower rate of unemployment for these graduates than those from 2007.
Three and a half years after graduating, over 80% were satisfied with their career, with 66% reporting that their course was value for money. 75% of the 6,000 graduates questioned said their course had prepared them well for their career.
The rate of employment for 2009 graduates was 3.2%, lower than 3.5% in 2007, but higher than 2.6% in 2005. The median salary for graduates in full-time work was £24,000 – on average £25,000 for men and £23,500 for women.
Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of the vice-chancellors group Universities UK, said: “These are encouraging figures and highlight the signs of recovery in the graduate jobs market after the recession. Graduates from UK universities are in demand from employers, both here and overseas, and are more likely to be employed and earn more than non-graduates over a working lifetime.
“Employment figures looking at what graduates are doing three and a half years after graduation are far more useful than those relating to six months after graduation. We know that the majority of those graduates who do not go straight into work six months after graduating are in full-time employment three years later. Some graduates will have postponed looking for a first job in order to undertake further study, to get work experience or for other reasons such as periods of travel.”
David Willetts, the universities minister, said: “As these figures demonstrate once again, a degree remains an excellent investment, and one of the best routes to gaining a good job and rewarding career. Even during a recession graduates have considerably higher employment rates than those without degrees.”
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