Graduate unemployment is as bad now as it was after the 2008 financial crash

Graduate unemployment has risen to levels not seen since the government implemented harsh austerity measures following the 2008 financial crash.

6.3 per cent of recent graduates aged between 21-30 are unemployed in comparison with 6.5 per cent back in 2012.

The time between those years saw a considerable dip in graduate unemployment, but thanks to the pandemic, it’s once again really difficult to get a grad job.

There’s also a considerable gap between the prospects of white and black graduates.

While 86.8 per cent of white graduates are employed, just 81.2 per cent of black graduates have found jobs.

It’s even worse for disabled graduates as just 73.4 per cent of whom have found employment.

Unsurprisingly, this rise in unemployment has had a knock-on effect impacting the ability of graduates to pay off their student loans.

According to the Students Loans Company, 201,900 fewer students contributed to their loan repayment scheme in 2020/21 in comparison with the previous year.

This is because repayments in England are only made when graduates earn an income of over £27,295.

But graduates are still far better off than those who didn’t go to university at all.

Nearly a quarter of young people who didn’t enter higher education are now unemployed.

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