Original Mark In Style 15 Astonishing Graduate Employment Statistics for 2021 by Marija Pandurov on 07/05/2021
Looking at the employment outlook for UK graduates in 2020, we can note that some of the UK's largest companies are taking on the majority of graduates, as new apprentices and trainees have cancelled their 2020 plans.
Conversely, others have laid off their apprentices with the remaining staff to receive government-paid salaries. Some have yet to disclose changes in plans, but many summer programs for students have transferred to digital format for the time being as organizations embrace virtual learning.
Graduate employment statistics compiled by the UK firm 'Mark in Style' reflect the state of the labor market in previous years and do not yet include the changes brought about by the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Fascinating statistics for graduates
- There were 34 million graduates in the UK in 2017.
- Graduate unemployment in the UK is 3%.
- The median graduate salary in England in 2018 was £34,000.
- All courses related to medicine have an employment rate of 99.3%.
- About 31% of graduates are overqualified for their positions.
- The number of graduates increased from 24% to 42% between 2002 and 2017.
- Approximately 73.9% of graduates are employed in professional positions.
General employment statistics for UK graduates
- There were 34 million graduates in the UK in 2017.
Any person over the age of 20 who is not currently enrolled in an educational course and who has already completed high school or higher education is considered a graduate.
In 2017, there were 34 million workers not enrolled in an educational course in the UK. Of these, 14 million were graduates (42%), 7 million had high school level qualifications (21%), just under 7 million (20%) had completed Secondary. 3 million had no recognized education (9%), and another 3 million had no formal education at all.
- The number of graduates increased from 24% to 42% between 2002 and 2017.
A survey of the economically active population in 2018 showed that there has been a significant increase in the number of graduates in the UK since 2002. A steady increase could be seen, from 24% in 2002 to 42% in 2017. Therefore, there are more and more people with qualifications, as obtaining higher education becomes more and more common.
- The difference in employment rates for master's and bachelor's graduates is about 16%.
Labor market trends for master's graduates show an increase since 2011. In 2018, there was a slight difference between the employment rate of master's graduates, which stood at 87.7%, and the postgraduate rate at 87.4%.
The employment rate for bachelor's degree graduates for the same period was 71.6%.
- The graduate unemployment rate in the United Kingdom is 3%.
What is the current unemployment rate in the UK?
In terms of overall unemployment statistics, the current rate in the UK for the first three months of 2020 was 3.9%.
Among master's graduates and those with high school, in the 2017/18 statistics, unemployment for the former in the UK was 3%, while the unemployment rate for those with high school and secondary education stood at 5%.
The highest rate was for those with other formal education or no formal education (6%).
Student employment statistics show that for those six months out of college, the unemployment rate in 2018 was 5.1%, making it the lowest rate on record since 1979, when that percentage was 4.9%.
- Approximately 73.9% of master's graduates are employed in professional positions.
Proportionally, the number of graduates in professional functions increased from 71.4% to 73.9%, as an additional 7,895 graduates were employed in professional functions.
- The graduate inactivity rate in the UK was 15% in 2017.
UK graduate employment statistics report that the percentage of people who are neither employed nor unemployed is represented by an inactivity rate of 15%. Among high school graduates, this number was 19%, for secondary school graduates it was 24%, and among the category of other or no qualifications, the inactivity rates were 29% and 53%, respectively.
- The median salary for master's graduates in England in 2018 was £34,000.
The income gap between master's graduates and non-graduates is around £10,000 on average. It has been at that level for some years now. And according to the Department for Education's analysis of the Labour Force Survey, the average salary for master's graduates in England is £34,000, compared with £24,000 typically paid to non-graduates. These numbers reflect findings across all age groups, from 20 to 64.
- At age 25, the average wage is 8.21 pounds per hour.
The average wage for a 21-year-old in the UK is £7.70 per hour. Another increase follows at age 25 to £8.21 per hour.
You may be wondering:
What is a good salary for a 30 year old in the UK?
People in their 'early thirties' can expect an average salary of £35,423.
- Men earn 13.7% more than women on average.
The gender wage gap is still present and stands at 13.7%. Men are also more likely to find a more qualified position than female master's graduates.
The global economic crisis drove starting wages lower in 2009. And although the employment rate is steadily increasing and is fairly similar for men and women, male workers continue to experience faster wage recovery than female workers.
- The average starting salary for graduates in 2018 was £22,399.
The shortage of certain skills in the areas of Information Technology, engineering, accounting and marketing in the Master's graduate job market influenced the increase in their starting salary in 2018 from £21,776 to £22,399 across the country, especially in the Midlands, East of England and Northern Ireland.
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- Medical studies have the highest graduate employment rate of 99.3%.
(The Guardian)
Graduates with a degree in medicine or engineering have better employment opportunities and are among those with the highest average annual salary.
Graduate employment statistics by subject show that those who gain employment most quickly come from medical studies.
And what's more:
All courses related to medicine have an employment rate of 95%. Biology has 90% and agriculture 89%, followed by physics with 88.8% and mathematics with 88.9%.
Mathematics graduates generally chose computer science as an alternative career, as did graduates of physics courses. In contrast, English or humanities graduates largely turned to the marketing sector if they were not employed in their own field. Many also opt for volunteer tutoring jobs or, once they have acquired the necessary qualifications, special educational needs teaching jobs.
- About 12% of all master's degree graduates work in retail.
Research on graduate outcomes shows that the largest number of overqualified graduate workers can be found, as expected, in retail trade. About 12% of all graduate workers are working in retail trade, and about 70% of them hold positions below their educational level.
- The percentage of master's degree graduates with permanent or full-time contracts is 61.8%.
In terms of contract duration, the number of graduates who had full-time contracts or one-year fixed-term contracts (after being in a position for six months) was 61.8%.
Zero-hours contracts still experienced a 4% increase in 2018, compared to 3.6% recorded in the previous year among new hires.
- About 31% of master's graduates in 2017 were overqualified for their jobs according to employment statistics.
An individual's level of education is often higher than the job it requires. In 2017, 31% of master's graduates were overqualified for the job they were doing. The percentage of those who graduated before 1992 and have more education than the role they are performing is 22%, while 34% of those who graduated after 2017 are overqualified.
It should be noted that:
Labor statistics show that the largest number of overqualified graduates work in London, where 25% of the workforce has a higher level of education than their job requires.
Biology, the arts and the humanities are the areas that have the most overqualified workers. Evident mainly in recent graduates, this is also due in part to the arrival of highly educated migrant workers.
The highest percentage of overeducated workers is in the 35-49 age group, which leads us to the conclusion that this is what the U.K. master's graduate labor market looks like.
And finally:
- Graduating from the best universities in the UK increases your chances of quick employment worldwide, as employment statistics confirm.
Statistics show that there are certain universities that more or less guarantee employment. Among recent graduates, the most employable are those coming from Cambridge, Oxford and Imperial College London.
Check this out:
At least 30 international leaders, 27 British prime ministers, 50 Nobel laureates and up to 120 Olympic athletes have attended Oxford.
This contributes to the fact that employers highly value graduates coming from their courses. Cambridge also has a large and influential alumni network around the world, and Imperial College offers its students support and career advice years after graduation.
It should therefore come as no surprise that as many as 82% of international graduates outside and inside the European Union say that obtaining a degree in the UK was worth the financial investment.
People also ask:
What percentage of master's graduates get a job?
The number of graduates in professional functions is 73.9% and up to 87.7% of graduates are employed. Only 3% of graduates are unemployed and about 15% are considered inactive, i.e. neither employed nor unemployed.
What percentage of college graduates are unemployed?
For university graduates who are six months out of university, the unemployment rate in the UK in 2018 was 5.1%, a 40-year low.
Which degree has the highest employment rate?
Postgraduate statistics show that medical degrees, along with dentistry and veterinary science, have the highest employment rate of 99.3%. This is followed by subjects allied to medicine with a rate of 95%, and is followed by biology and agriculture with 90.6% and 89.3%.
What percentage of the UK has a degree?
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports in the Annual Population Survey that 34.4% of the UK working population aged 16-64 have a university degree or equivalent qualification, an increase from the ONS figures for 2002, when that percentage was 27.2%, although this was conducted on a larger sample than the 2016 Annual Population Survey.
Pandurov, M. (2021) 15 Astonishing Graduate Employment Statistics for 2021 Available at: https://markinstyle.co.uk (Accessed: 01/06/2021)