Graduate job market recovers to pre-recession levels
07/07/2014
The number of graduate job opportunities has increased by 12% over the last 12 months, according to a report.
The figures are particularly significant, as it means the graduate job market has recovered to the same level as before the recession in 2007, when employment opportunities fell by 23.3% up to 2009.
The report said that the UK’s top companies employed more graduates than they expected over the last 12 months, and that each top employer now offers an average of 190 graduate jobs.
However, the number of graduates has increased by around 30% since 2007, meaning even more jobs will need to be created in order to cope with demand.
Highest level of graduate employment for seven years
As the economy has continued to recover from the 2007 recession, graduate recruitment has also been on the rise and it is now at its highest level for seven years, according to the report.
The report said: “These latest results mark a very welcome improvement in the graduate job market and suggest that graduate recruitment at the leading employers is now at its highest level for seven years.”
Additionally, a third of top companies have increased their graduate recruitment targets in 2014, on the back of a positive 12 months.
Accounting and professional services companies appeared to be the biggest drivers of graduate recruitment, increasing their intake of university leavers by 23.8%.
However, despite this good news for graduates, the market still remains very competitive, with an average of 39 applications for each graduate job opening.
Some of the most competitive sectors included consumer goods, oil and energy and media, with companies in these industries regularly receiving over 50 applications per job.
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