Graduate employment statistics Q3 2019 📊

• 81% of graduates were hired into a different job to the one they initially applied for
• 64 different universities our clients hired from – download the report to find out more information on which UK universities and international universities they were
• 68% of graduates initially said they were open to ideas when it comes to industry
• 25% of graduates want a job with ‘Analyst’ in the title
• 0% of graduate starting salaries are now below £20,000

Find out more statistics in the graduate employment report.

Increase in graduate salaries

Across the board, the increase in average graduate starting salary in Q3 is a sure sign of the competitive nature of the market and rising living costs, particularly in London.

• Average graduate salary in Q3: £25,200
• Highest graduate salary in Q3: £65,000
• Lowest graduate salary in Q3: £20,000

Salary is not the most important factor in choosing a job

The position that candidates ranked salary on their list of ‘what is most important in a job’

• Learning and development
• Growth opportunities
• Salary
• Benefits and perks package
• Work/ life balance
• Culture

In order to hire the best graduates, many employers are focusing more on attraction and retention strategies.

Alongside basic salary and benefits, they have included additional perks and benefits such as flexible working and wellbeing initiatives.

The flowchart below demonstrates the graduate recruitment funnel from application to placement,  based on graduate recruitment data collected in Q3 2019.

It also includes how many candidates were shortlisted, and how many interviews were arranged for each graduate job placement in Q3.

If you have more questions about the graduate recruitment process, please visit our Recruitment FAQs page.

In Q3 2019, employers hired graduates from a range of different universities internationally.

Top 10 UK universities

• University of Leeds
• University of Law
• Kings College London
• Newcastle University
• Unviersity of Birmingham
• University of Nottingham
• University College London
• University of Cambridge
• University of Oxford
• University of Bristol

Find out which other universities employers hired from in Q3 in the report.

Unsurprisingly, the digital direction in which UK businesses have been moving has meant that the demand for computing, data and technology skills has skyrocketed.

With the majority of employers now recognising the need for more technical skills in their business, they have looked to hire candidates to reflect this.

The net result is that we’re seeing more graduates applying to get into the tech sector.

For more technology trends and statistics on specific tech jobs, see pages 9 and 10 of the report.

In response to this growing need for technology skills, we have increased our engagement with relevant student societies at a number of the UK’s top universities.

Over the course of 2017-2019 we have sponsored several technology and STEM societies, including UCL Data Science Society, Manchester HackSoc, and Queen Mary Maths & Business Society.