The Russell Group universities where the fewest grads are actually getting jobs

Pretty much anyone from Gen Z will tell you that that graduate job market feels grim in 2026. Even people who attended the famous Russell Group universities are struggling to land jobs.

We’ve all heard horror stories about people with great degrees who get rejected from hundreds of jobs. But how many grads from Russell Group universities are really failing to find jobs?

The worst Russell Group uni for grad jobs right now is Queen Mary University of London. Over a quarter of students don’t find a full-time job or a further study course within 15 months of leaving uni. Surprisingly, Oxbridge aren’t the best unis in the UK for grad jobs. Fewer ex-students find work at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge than at Imperial, LSE or Queen’s Uni Belfast.

Cambridge graduation, complete with silly-looking hoods

This data all comes from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). The figures refer to the occupations of undergrad and postgrad students who left in 2023, 15 months on. The percentages are the proportion of these students in full-time employment, full-time further study, or employment and further study.

So, here are the Russell Group universities ranked by how few grads find full-time jobs or further study:

24. Imperial College London – 88.6 per cent

23. London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) – 86.8 per cent

22. Queen’s University Belfast – 81.7 per cent

=20. University of Cambridge – 81.0 per cent

=20. University of Warwick – 81.0 per cent

19. University of Exeter – 80.6 per cent

A grad smiling away by Exeter Cathedral

18. University of Birmingham – 80.5 per cent

17. University of Southampton – 80.3 per cent

16. University of Edinburgh – 80.2 per cent

15. University of Sheffield – 80.1 per cent

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14. University College London (UCL) – 80.0 per cent

13. University of Oxford – 79.5 per cent

=11. King’s College London (KCL) – 79.4 per cent

=11. University of Liverpool – 79.4 per cent

10. Cardiff University – 79.2 per cent

9. University of Manchester – 79.0 per cent

Not a bad background for your graduation pics

=7. University of Glasgow – 78.7 per cent

=7. Newcastle University – 78.7 per cent

6. University of Leeds – 78.4 per cent

5. Durham University – 78.3 per cent

4. University of Nottingham – 78.2 per cent

3. University of Bristol – 77.6 per cent

2. University of York – 77.3 per cent

1. Queen Mary University of London – 74.1 per cent

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