Recession-hit graduates 'working as cleaners and porters'

A report appeared in the Telegraph (telegraph.co.uk) says that more than 20,000 degree students – almost one-in-10 – who left university last summer were without a job six months later.

Figures show that the number of unemployed graduates has increased by around 1,300 in 12 months and more than 9,000 in just four years. This was almost double the number in 2007 before the recession struck.

The university leavers are forced to take up “elementary” positions because of a shortage of well-paid graduate jobs during the recession, it was revealed.

Last year, some 10,270 graduates found work as labourers, couriers, office juniors, hospital porters, waiters, bar staff, cleaners, road sweepers and school dinner servers.

Of those in work, 14 per cent of ex-students were in sales and customer service positions, including sales assistants, market traders and call centre staff. Nine per cent were in administrative jobs and seven per cent were in elementary occupations, figures show.
However, almost a third of working students – around 47,350 – went into associate professional and technical jobs, covering laboratory technicians, nurses, paramedics, interpreters, police officers and the armed forces. This was the largest single category.