Mike Barnard, 10 July 2008
Graduate opportunities are weathering the credit crunch as more jobs and higher wages are on offer from employers.

The AGR Graduate Recruitment Survey 2008 Summer Review reveals the recruitment trends of 242 employers during May and June 2008.

The research suggests there are more graduate vacancies, better pay and a positive outlook for the rest of the year.

Despite the economic gloom, there has been an increase in graduate vacancies of 11.7 percent and starting salaries are on the rise: the median pay in 2008 is up 1.8 percent on 2007 to £24,500.

The majority of graduates (nearly 30 percent) can expect a wage of between £22,000 and £24,000, and another 20 percent will receive £24,000 to £27,000. Some eight percent will enjoy a first annual pay packet more than £36,000, largely from law firms who have jumped ahead of investment banking as offering top wages.

Graduates looking to start in accountancy, banking and financial services have the most opportunities to choose from with a third of the total number of vacancies in these industries. London and the south east offer the most opportunities to graduates: nearly 60 percent of all vacancies are in these two regions.

Employers quizzed by the AGR have a buoyant outlook for 2009 when the UK may be in the grip of a recession: more than half expect recruitment levels to remain stable and 32.1 percent predict increases. However, the salary outlook for 2009 is marked by caution, with a majority of members predicting either no change in graduate starting salaries or only a cost-of-living rise.

The AGR also reports the need for graduates to have at least a 2.1 degree to compete for jobs could be coming to an end. It states: “The 2:1 remains the application criterion most frequently cited by AGR employers. However, the demonstration of certain competencies is strikingly close behind and the 2:2 is coming more into favour; it seems that the 2:1’s gold-standard status is beginning to be challenged, an impression reinforced by individual members’ comments on their selection criteria.”

Psychometric testing is still popular for selecting graduates with nearly 60 percent of graduate employers opting for the tests as part of their recruitment processes.