Amid an energy crisis, cost of living crisis and rising inflation, attention has turned to this year’s graduates. In the capital alone, the number of graduate vacancies has fallen to 31.8% from 37.8% five years ago. What’s just as worrying is that although starting salaries have risen, the reality is that once inflation has been factored in, wages are lower in real terms.
Adzuna’s UK job market report revealed that whilst the number of jobs available rose for the fourth consecutive month in May, it was a different story for graduate vacancies. So far this year, there has been a 20.8% drop in companies offering graduate roles. With roughly 570,000 students graduating this year, says the Higher Education Statistics Agency, there’s going to be tough opposition for each job, putting more pressure on employers.
So, what are this year’s students going to face out in the big, wide world when they graduate?
The impact of inflation on salaries
A big issue this year is not that starting salaries aren’t high enough. In fact, the average graduate salary has increased by 6.6% compared to this time last year. The problem is inflation so, when you adjust salaries to allow for inflation, in reality salaries have decreased by 7%. Therefore, graduates are already in deficit before they’ve even started their first day at work. It is, of course, harder in some industries than others.
Fewer jobs available
The recent energy crisis and cost of living crisis has impacted businesses as much as households. Many companies and organisations, especially those in the public sector, are facing increasing pressure from staff to push up wages. This has led to a squeeze on hiring budgets and graduate jobs are taking a hit.
Employers are holding back on developing the more strategic roles for graduates and instead choosing to train and upskill their employees instead. This more react-to-circumstances approach will, in the long-term, limit potential growth in the economy and in the short-term push up the wages for the older already-experienced employees.
Stats show that London is still the chosen location for graduates looking for employment but there are fewer graduate jobs in the City. However, places like Manchester, Bristol and Reading are seeing good availability. Perhaps the answer is to move away from London and seek opportunities in other cities, which may also be nearer to home and rents, as well as house prices, are lower.
Post-Covid impact on university experience
The ripple effect of lockdowns is still being felt by the younger generation. Many of this year’s graduates will have missed out on vital work experience opportunities during their university courses because of it. This means that when graduates apply for jobs, they are struggling to demonstrate any type of work experience, nor the soft skills which employers are looking for these days. Those that took a gap year might also be a victim of the post-Covid problem.
A lack of education
Many graduates are not happy they are graduating at full cost when they haven’t had the benefit of all their in-person lectures and seminars. Studying online during lockdowns is certainly not the best experience, perhaps offering an unbalanced and only partial experience. This is reflected in the many ongoing legal cases brought by students against their universities as they say they ‘feel cheated’, according to lawyers hoping to trigger an avalanche of compensation claims against universities. Time will tell if that actually achieves anything, for any party.
At Auxato, we know the difficulties that graduates are facing this year. If you are looking for employment within marketing, communications and public relations, come and have a chat with us to help you seek out the best opportunities for you. Take a look through our website for the latest jobs we have available and give us a call; we’d love to talk!