UK Training Industry Press Releases

First confirmed recruitment figures for the year offer little solace for hard-pressed graduates

?         One in four graduate vacancies disappear    

?         Competition intensifies with an average of 48 applications for every job

?         Quality of job applications is up as shaken grads sharpen up their act

?         Average graduate salary remains frozen at £25,000

?         Recruiters predict no change for 2010

Graduate jobs have been cut by one quarter this year according to the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), which published the summer edition of its bi-annual survey today (Monday 6 July), the opening day of its annual conference. Vacancies have plummeted by 24.9% in the latest recruitment round approaching levels not seen since the last recession in 1991 and far exceeding the modest dip of 5.4% predicted by the same recruiters in February. 

The gloomy picture painted by today's survey is one of not only fewer jobs but also of stagnant salary levels and much increased competition. Even the engineering sector has experienced vacancy cuts of over 40% and eight sectors have experienced reductions amounting to hundreds of recruits, with IT and banking worst hit. The only sector to buck the trend is energy, water or utilities with a 7.1% rise in vacancies. The vast majority of employers (91.9%) are expecting to fill all of their vacancies this year with recruitment shortfalls of previous years now a distant memory.