Fewer graduates are managing to get jobs in the recession, according to official figures released yesterday.

More than 16,000 of last year’s full-time graduates were still out of work six months after leaving university, the figures show.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency found that 124,065 full-time graduates, or 62 per cent, had secured a job compared with 64 per cent last year.

More than 15,000 were in a combination of work and study — 8 per cent compared with 9 per cent of 2007’s graduates. And 16,835, were assumed to be unemployed — 8 per cent, a rise from 6 per cent the previous year.

While no medical or dentistry graduates were out of work, for other subjects the rate was high. One in seven (14 per cent) of computer science graduates did not have a job six months after leaving university.

Slightly more graduates went into sales and customer services jobs than the year before, the same number went into professional careers, and fewer found work in associate professional and technical jobs.

Even though fewer were in work, the average starting salary rose from £19,000 to £20,000.

Wes Streeting, president of the National Union of Students, said: “These figures foretell the crisis awaiting graduates this summer as a result of the recession. Only a few days ago, we heard that the country’s top employers will be cutting this year’s intake of new graduates by 28 per cent.

“Students are racking up thousands of pounds of debt because of fees, and many will be extremely worried at the lack of job prospects when they leave university.

“Those vice-chancellors who are arguing for the cap on fees to be lifted in the coming year must think again, unless they want to plunge a generation of students and graduates into even worse debt during a time of economic crisis.”

David Lammy, the Higher Education Minister, said the statistics were positive. “The figures show that even in tough times a degree is a strong investment which stands graduates in good stead for a long and successful career,” he said.

“Employment rates for graduates continue to be higher than for those with lower qualifications, and with research showing that there are jobs available with growth in some areas, graduates should remain positive about their prospects.”

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