Employers are still actively seeking applications from graduates in 2009 despite a fall in confidence among recruiters, a new survey has revealed.
A third of the 124 employers surveyed by the Association of Graduate Recruiters said they were still accepting job applications from graduates despite the current economic climate.
They include Boots, Arriva, Co-op, Danone and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
However, most of the employers admitted they felt either the same or had slightly lower levels of confidence about the UK economy than they did three months ago.
The snapshot survey follows the AGR’s vacancies survey in February where employers predicted a 5.4% decrease in the number of graduate jobs for 2009.
Carl Gilleard, AGR chief executive said it was important that graduates did not despair.
He said. “Though there is certainly nervousness amongst recruiters about the impact of the recession on their business, not all have shut up shop by any means and a very significant number are still looking for bright graduates to take on.
“By providing details of exactly which employers are still hiring we hope to make life a little bit easier for both recruiters and graduates at what is a difficult time in the graduate job market.”
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Earlier this week, employers were being urged to register online for a new graduate internship scheme, which will be run centrally by the government.
The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills hopes employers will list more than 5,000 internships on a new website, which will be ready by the summer for employees to search and apply for positions.
