Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Latest NewsEconomics, government & businessJob creation and losses

Graduate unemployment ‘could hit 25%’ after public spending cuts

by Personnel Today 1 Jul 2010
by Personnel Today 1 Jul 2010

Government plans to cut public sector spending by up to 25% could cause graduate unemployment to rise to more than 20% – an unprecedented level, a charity has warned.


In January last year, UK graduate unemployment was about 7.9%, or around 22,000 graduates, according to the Higher Education Careers Services Unit (HECSU).


With a higher proportion of public sector staff qualified to degree level than private sector staff, the government’s recently announced cuts could have a disproportionate effect on graduates, the HECSU warned.


Charlie Ball, deputy research director at the HECSU, said: “There are around 39,000 ‘non-frontline’ public sector jobs taken by UK-domiciled graduates annually. I don’t expect them all to be lost, but they don’t need to be to have a significant impact.


“Even if only a fifth of them were to go and not be replaced, that would more than double graduate unemployment for the cohort affected. That would put graduate unemployment over 20% and pushing towards 25%.”


The highest unemployment rate ever recorded in the UK for graduates six months after graduating was 13.5% at the start of 1983, according to the HECSU.


Yesterday, The Office for Budget Responsibility, the government’s independent spending watchdog, forecast that about 600,000 jobs will be lost in the public sector by 2016. The Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development has forecast that around 725,000 jobs will be cut in the public sector over the next five years.


Wales and North East England, which are heavily reliant on the public sector for employment, will be hit hardest by the state job cuts, the HECSU said.


Ball said: “While [the public sector] accounts for about a quarter of jobs graduates in the North East and Wales go into, the loss of a significant proportion of the local graduate labour market could have dire effects on these regional economies, and some of those worst affected could be those with the weaker local economies.


Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

“This suggests that job cuts could drive educated young people away from regions that need to retain them and into the capital, in search of work.”







Private sector to pick up the slack?


Despite fears of a drop-off in graduate recruitment in the public sector, some private sector employers, such as Deloitte, have maintained their schemes during the recession and are now looking to increase their intake. 
 
The professional services firm has today (1 July) opened its application process for 2011, and plans to increase it’s intake from 1,000 this year to 1,100 the following year.
 
Sarah Shillingford, graduate recruitment partner at Deloitte, said: “My advice for students is, do not wait until the world tells you the graduate market is picking up – in fact, things aren’t as bad as they have been made out to be. Not applying for graduate positions because the jungle drums aren’t telling you to could lead to missed opportunities.”

Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

previous post
Equal pay bill at Walsall Council could hit £50m
next post
Job creation estimates made by government watchdog are ‘optimistic’, warns CIPD

You may also like

Restaurant tips should be included in holiday pay

21 May 2025

Fewer workers would comply with a return-to-office mandate

21 May 2025

Redefining leadership: From competence to inclusion

21 May 2025

Pay awards in real terms could fall for...

21 May 2025

Ryanair demands flight attendants pay back salary increase

21 May 2025

Consultation launched after Supreme Court ‘sex’ ruling

20 May 2025

Uncertainty over law hampering legal use of medical...

20 May 2025

Black security manager awarded £360k after decade of...

20 May 2025

Employers ‘worryingly’ ignorant about stress risk assessments

20 May 2025

UK and EU agree to collaborate on ‘youth...

19 May 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+