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Jobs and salaries for graduates on the rise

The number of jobs available for graduates is rising and starting salaries are increasing as well, research has suggested. However there are signs that initial pay packets in the capital are declining. A recent employment survey shows a 13% increase in graduate jobs, the fourth year in a row which has seen an increase. But the survey from the Association of Graduate Recruiters shows that starting salaries for university-leavers in some areas, notably London and East Anglia, are falling. It also found more employers are using psychometric tests in recruiting.

This latest snapshot of the jobs market sends a mixed message for students about to leave university. There is no sign of a reduction in the demand for graduates from employers, but there is also plenty of competition for jobs, with an average of 30 applicants for each graduate vacancy in the survey. Almost two-thirds of the graduate employers now expect a 2:1 as a minimum level degree.

Employers are increasingly using psychometric testing to find out more about applicants’ abilities and thinking skills with 92% of firms saying they were “useful” or “very useful”.

While the number of graduate jobs available has continued to expand, pay has been affected differently across the UK. In the London job market starting salaries have fallen by 5%. In East Anglia, the decline has been 14%. In Scotland, Wales and other regions of England, starting salaries are rising – up by 4.8% in Scotland and 5.6% in the English midlands.

The AGR interprets the fall in London starting salaries as a sign that employers are confident that they can recruit more staff without any substantial increase in pay. The AGR’s chief executive, Carl Gilleard, says graduates leaving university this summer should be “optimistic about the opportunities available to them with vacancies predicted to continue to rise”.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .