This document summarizes data on the UK graduate labor market. It finds that while there are some misunderstandings about universal university attendance and lack of graduate jobs, outcomes remain good with over 70% of graduates in professional jobs within 6 months. While graduate mobility is decreasing, skills shortages are significant and worsening in fields like engineering, nursing, and tech. Overall, the graduate labor market is fundamentally sound but there are opportunities to better match graduate skills with market demand.

1. Engage – Recruit – Verify

3. What do graduates do?
Working full-time
in the UK, 55.2%
Working part-
time in the UK,
11.9%
Working
overseas, 1.8%
Working and
studying, 5.4%
Further study,
16.1%
Unemployed,
including those
due to start work,
5.1%
Other, 4.5%

4. What everyone knows about the graduate labour
market: 1. ‘Everyone goes to university nowadays’

5. The reality
39% of the adult population (16-64) of the UK had
a degree at the end of 2018
44% of the UK workforce has a degree or
equivalent qualification
Less than half of students currently aged 14-18 will
ever go to university, and it’s unlikely we’ll ever see
a situation where half even of a given age group
goes to university.

6. What everyone knows about the graduate labour
market: 2. ‘There are no jobs for graduates’

7. The reality
136,000 UK graduates from 2017 were known to
be in professional-level jobs six months after
graduating (74% of graduates)
Annual Population Survey data showed that at the
end of 2018, there were 14.8m people working in
professional-level jobs in the UK
Or 46% of the workforce
APS data also shows that the UK added 353,500
new professional-level jobs in 2018

8. Graduate mobility
Stayers: went away to university and liked it so
much they stayed there – 13%
Incomers: working in a region where they weren’t
brought up or went to university – 18%
Returners: went back to their home region after
going away to university – 24%
Loyals: born, brought up, educated and now
working in the same place – 45%

9. Graduate mobility
58% of graduates went to work in the region in
which they studied
69% went to work in the region in which they were
originally domiciled
Only 18% went to work in a region with which they
had no connection
This pattern is long-standing and mobility may
even be falling

10. Graduate mobility (East of England)
Loyals 30.5%
Stayers 8.4%
Returners 39.5%
Incomers 21.6%

11. Graduate mobility by participation
Highest-participation white males:
Loyals – 32.6%
Stayers – 27.1%
Incomers – 26.2%
Returners – 14.1%

12. Graduate mobility by participation
Lowest-participation BAME females:
Loyals – 51.6%
Stayers – 21.6%
Incomers – 13.9%
Returners – 12.9%

13. Where do graduates work?
• Westminster 6,080
• Birmingham 4,670
• Manchester 4,420
• City of London 4,065
• Greater London 3,840
• Leeds 3,625
• Camden 3,490
• Glasgow 3,370
• Surrey 3,180
• Hertfordshire 3,090
• Kent 3,035
• Hampshire 2,725
• Edinburgh 2,530
• Tower Hamlets 2,470
• Essex 2,465
• Lancashire 2,455
• Liverpool 2,445
• Bristol 2,390
• Belfast 2,385
• Southwark 2,295
• Oxfordshire 2,145
• Sheffield 2,145
• Cardiff 2,115
• Cambridgeshire 2,045
• Islington 1,985
• Newcastle 1,945
• Nottingham 1,790
• West Sussex 1,675
• Gloucestershire 1,610
• Leicester 1,545

14. What jobs do they do? (East of England)
18.6%
10.0%
8.1%
6.6% 6.6% 6.4% 6.4% 6.2% 5.9% 5.3% 4.9% 4.6% 4.5% 4.1%
1.9%
0.0%
2.0%
4.0%
6.0%
8.0%
10.0%
12.0%
14.0%
16.0%
18.0%
20.0%

15. What industries do they work in? (East of England)
19.7%
13.9%
13.7%
8.2% 7.7%
6.6%
5.7%
4.5% 4.3%
3.4% 3.3%
2.4% 2.2%
1.5% 1.3% 1.0%
0.5%
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%

16. The importance of SMEs
30% of graduates work for companies with fewer
than 250 employees (37% when hospitals are
removed), and one in six are with companies with
fewer than 50 employees
SMEs are especially important in telecoms, arts,
design, architecture, marketing/PR/advertising,
sport/fitness, law, web design

17. The importance of SMEs
In the Prospects Early Careers Survey 2018, of
those who expressed a preference for company
size, 77% preferred to work for an SME
‘In an entry-level job, a smaller employer provides
a more intimate learning experience and more
guidance’

18. Hardest graduate jobs to fill (East of England)
Medical practitioners
Nurses
Design and development engineers
Veterinarians
Business sales executives
Solicitors
Quality assurance technicians
Programmers and software development
professionals
Welfare and housing associate
professionals
Sales accounts and business development
managers
Social and humanities scientists
Quantity surveyors
Human resources and industrial relations
officers
Finance and investment analysts and
advisers
Primary and nursery education teaching
professionals
Estimators, valuers and assessors
Mechanical engineers
Graphic designers
Estate agents and auctioneers
Marketing associate professionals
Pharmacists
Secondary education teaching professionals
Vocational and industrial trainers and
instructors
Production managers and directors in
construction
Town planning officers

19. General labour market shortages
‘Contacts reported shortages of engineers, care workers,
nurses, lorry drivers and experienced candidates in
professional and financial services. Some employers said
they planned to address labour shortages by training
apprentices and graduates, though this was likely to drag
on productivity in the short term.’
Bank of England Agents’ Summary of Business Conditions
Q3 2019, September 2019

20. Net changes in UK occupational structure 2008-
2018
527900
1420700
710900
-256000
-116700
430500
-12700
-37800
112900
-500000 0 500000 1000000 1500000 2000000
1: managers, directors and senior officials
2: professional occupations
3: associate prof & tech occupations
4: administrative and secretarial occupations
5: skilled trades occupations
6: caring, leisure and other service
occupations
7: sales and customer service occupations
8: process, plant and machine operatives
9: elementary occupations

21. Summary
Graduate labour market fundamentally sound,
long-term trend for expansion
Outcomes remain good, with low unemployment
A lot of misunderstandings about the extent and
nature of graduate employment
Significant increase in graduates taking Masters
on completing first degree
Little evidence of significant negative Brexit effect
on early graduate labour market at the moment

22. Summary
Graduate mobility seems to be falling
Skills shortages and recruitment difficulties
significant and worsening
Despite good labour market, graduate
underutilisation remains a serious issue
Not matching graduate supply and demand as a
nation very effectively