Graduates face worst jobs market on record as vacancies plummet
Just 8,383 graduate-level vacancies were listed in July according to job website Adzuna, down from 15,397 at the same time last year
Graduates are facing the toughest job market on record, as fresh data shows the number of entry-level positions almost halved in a year.
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Just 8,383 graduate-level vacancies were listed in July according to job website Adzuna, down from 15,397 at the same time last year.
It is the lowest number ever recorded since the company started tracking the data in 2016.
The figures come as a record-breaking 262,820 people prepare to start university in September.
It means that for every 100 people starting university this year, there were just three graduate-level vacancies listed in July.
Adzuna said that the best year for graduate employment was in 2017, when there were more than 55,000 starting roles.
Read more: Man who’s applied for 270 jobs and counting tells LBC support for graduates is 'next to nothing'
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Employers have blamed a combination of national insurance contributions and minimum wage hikes along with the prioritisation of automation and AI.
Andrew Hunter, a co-founder of Adzuna, said: “July’s numbers are a step backwards, not a blip. The annual vacancy decline got worse for the first time since January, and (the number of) jobseekers per vacancy are now higher than they were a year ago.
“The graduate job market also keeps setting new lows, which tells us employers still haven’t found a reason to open up hiring at that level.”
Competition for positions has increased across the board, with an average of 2.14 job hunters per role, up from 1.93 a year earlier.
Around 1 million people young people in the UK were not in education, employment or training, otherwise known as Neets in the first four months of this year, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Andy Burnham has pledged to revive the rising youth unemployment rate by investing in more apprenticeships and technical education.
Adzuna said the only professions where jobs for university graduates were teaching, travel, manufacturing and construction.
Graduates have told LBC of their struggles in the current job market.
One man, Shiva Chandorkar, 22, told LBC earlier this year that he had unsuccessfully applied for 270 jobs since October 2024.
He said that often his job applications are only reviewed and rejected by an AI.