The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2011 has found that students are applying for post-college jobs much earlier than ever before. Students are applying for jobs almost an entire year before they graduate, as jobs are so scarce and fear of unemployment is quite high. The Survey found that over 33% of final-year students had already applied for jobs by last October; 80% had done so by February.
Unemployment May Rise
This news comes as economists are warning that unemployment is likely to rise even more in the coming months. Chief UK and European economist at HIS Global Insight, Howard Archer, said, “We suspect that likely below-trend growth will mean that the private sector will be unable to fully compensate for the increasing job losses in the public sector that will result from the fiscal squeeze that is now really kicking in.”
Boosting Work Prospects
The government recently unveiled a £60 million package that has as its goal to boost work prospects for the young. This quarter, the number of unemployed men decreased by 31,000 to reach 1.43 million and the number of unemployed women fell by 5000, to reach 1.03 million. The employment figures, while slowly increasing, are still 332,000 lower than these numbers were at the pre-recession peak in May of 2008.
As Employment Minister in the UK, Chris Grayling, said, “It’s good news to see that unemployment is also going in the right direction and pleasing that unemployment has fallen for young people.” He continued by saying, “We’re determined to tackle youth unemployment, which is why we’ve taken steps to ensure that young people get the best possible support to get back to work, including lining up thousands of employers to provide work experience places and introducing apprenticeship places.”
