Graduate unemployment higher than national rate

Almost three-quarters of last year's graduates have got jobs, but unemployment among this group is higher than the national rate, according to official figures.

The survey of a quarter of a million graduates from all over the UK who completed their first degree in 2004 found that 5.9% are unemployed. Government statisticians report that the national unemployment rate, as a percentage of the population that is economically active, has been almost constant at around 4.75% for the past year.

The figures, which were collated by the Higher Education Statistics Agency, suggest that it takes some graduates more than a year to find full employment. Some 73.6% of 2004 graduates said they were working compared with 72.7% the year before. Meanwhile, 23.9% have been studying, although some have also been working and are included in the employment figures.

The figures also reveal that many graduates go into jobs for which they don't need a degree - at least in the first year after graduation. More than a third of those working said they were not in graduate-level jobs.

Asked whether they thought their degree was a prerequisite for the job, the majority of graduates said it was a formal requirement or was expected of them. Around 20% said it "gave them an advantage", while 2.4% said they didn't know.

More than 80% of medicine, dentistry and education graduates are in jobs, while the overwhelming majority of the rest are studying. Those most likely to continue studying are law graduates, 50% of whom go straight on to train to become qualified lawyers.

Computer studies had the highest unemployment rate, at just over 11%, while arts and design, engineering and technology and mass communications were all above 8%.

The median salary was found to be £18,000 for men and £17,000 for women, although this differential was wider among graduates who had studied part-time, with men earning £25,000 and women £22,000.

Women are more likely to be doing low-paid jobs. Only 140 of the women are earning more than £40,000 a year compared with 455 men. Nearly 13,000 women are earning less than £15,000 compared with 7,200 men.