What does the job market look like for the class of 2008?

The Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) Graduate Recruitment Survey 2009: Summer review, which surveyed 226 large graduate employers, found that a majority (62.7%) of organisations are offering fewer vacancies this recruitment season compared to last year, although a fifth (20.7%) are increasing recruitment. The outlook for graduate vacancies in 2010 - as described by AGR employers - is not looking much brighter. Over half (53.4%) of the AGR employers are anticipating similar vacancy levels for 2010 with only a fifth (22.1%) even expecting slightly higher levels of recruitment and around one in ten (11.1%) expecting a slight fall.

Among AGR members, the median salary for 2010 is expected to stagnate. Just under half (48.5%) of the AGR members expect no change to salary levels and a quarter (25.7%) expect to provide a cost-of-living rise in starting salaries.

It is important to bear in mind that the employers polled are almost exclusively large companies and organisations and the vacancies are aimed specifically at graduates. A significant number of graduates, however, are employed in small or medium-sized companies.

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