Students face one of toughest job markets: Graduates get 'rough deal' with fewer vacancies and falling pay

Most graduates entering the job market this year will feel they have been given a 'rough deal', a recruitment boss warned today.

Students graduating this year face 'one of the toughest job markets in recent times', with fewer vacancies and falling pay rates, according to jobs website Adzuna.

Its monthly report said there was an 8 per cent fall in graduate jobs in April compared with the same month a year ago, down to 12,850.

Doug Monro, co-founder of Adzuna, said: 'In university libraries across the UK, students are filling in the job forms and crossing their fingers, but they might need more than luck this summer.'

Average entry-level advertised salaries reached a 30-month low of £23,309, a study found.

Cambridge and Oxford were the best cities for graduate jobs, while general vacancies were also said to be strong in Guildford, Reading, Exeter and Winchester.

The worst places for jobseekers were said to be Sunderland, Hull, Middlesbrough and Belfast, with around three candidates per vacancy.

Evidence emerged this month that jobs creation could be 'cooling off' ahead of the European union referendum.

Unemployment dipped by just 2,000 in the quarter to March to 1.69 million, 139,000 fewer than for a year earlier. 

It means the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.1 per cent - the same as the previous three months.

Doug Monro, co-founder of Adzuna, said: 'In university libraries across the UK, students are filling in the job forms and crossing their fingers, but they might need more than luck this summer.

'Graduate vacancies are falling and new joiners are facing one of the toughest job markets in recent times.

'Many graduates may feel like it's a rough deal right now. Graduate pay has fallen drastically from 2013 levels, and talks of rising tuition fee hikes next year will only add to this feeling.

'Unfortunately, fewer roles does inevitably mean more competition to find a first job, but graduates may have the upper hand in the long-term.

'Many of these schemes contain a long-term investment in development and fast-tracking to managerial positions.'