Class of 2009 will take this year's job offers

Number of openings for graduates is rising – but 2010's students will struggle

This year's university graduates will struggle just as hard as last year's to find a job after completing their studies despite an 11.8 per cent increase in the number of jobs on offer.

Figures from the country's leading 100 employers today show that for the first time in three years the number of graduate jobs available is set to rise.

However, most of the vacancies will be snapped up by last year's graduates who were offered jobs but then found them withdrawn as a result of the recession – or who have been unemployed for months but have done work experience with employers. At least one in four of the jobs has gone already.

"After two years of swingeing cuts in graduate recruitment, it's encouraging that Britain's best-known and most sought-after employers are stepping up their entry-level vacancies for 2010," said Martin Birchall, managing director of High Fliers Research, which does an annual poll of leading employers.

"But students leaving university this summer will be disappointed to find that many of these new positions have already been filled by graduates from the 'Class of 2009' who had job offers postponed last year."

The latest figures show that one in five jobless 18- to 24-year-olds has a degree – up from one in six three years ago. The unemployment rate for this age group has shot up to 18 per cent from just 5.8 per cent before the recession started.

Today's survey reveals the biggest boost to jobs comes from the City, where vacancies in investment banking have risen by a third. The number of job opportunities in high street banks, accounting and professional services have also risen.

The 11.8 per cent rise this year compares with a 17.8 per cent drop in 2009 when 40,000 jobs were offered but 10,000 subsequently withdrawn as a result of the recession. The previous year, job offers fell by 6.7 per cent.

This year's survey reveals the average pay of a newly qualified graduate is likely to be frozen at £27,000 – the first time since the survey was launched that there has been no increase. Would-be graduates this summer are already planning to lower their sights as a result of the predicted squeeze on jobs.

A survey of 1,000 final-year students revealed that only 8 per cent were confident of landing the job they wanted. One in four admitted they had been forced to apply for jobs in organisations they were not really interested in.

Half of student job-hunters have little confidence they will find a graduate position and a third are planning to remain at university for postgraduate studies. "For those who have yet to begin job-hunting, the chances of landing a place on a graduate programme in 2010 are looking increasingly slim," added Mr Birchall.

Case Study: Alex Wright, 24

Ms Wright has a BSc in public health from the University of Georgia in the US, and also an MSc in the control of infectious disease from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

"I've applied to maybe 20 different NGOs since graduating from LSHTM in September, and I haven't even seen a reply from more than half of them," she said.

"The only job I've had was a part-time retail job in a clothes shop on Regent Street. I'm now pretty desperate to meet my rent, so I'm spending all day looking online for anything, like nannying or admin.

"I've had to cut out non-essentials, so I don't have a TV or the internet in my flat. The situation is depressing and stressful – I spent six years getting this degree and I can't find any job that wants to use it. Ideally I'd like to work for a non-profit organisation in London, and specialise in the treatment of malaria."

20 per cent of jobless 18- to 24-year-olds have a degree – up from 16 per cent in 2007.