Graduate salaries are finally set to rise after SEVEN years

Graduate salaries are expected to rise this year for the first time since 2015 – after the country’s biggest employers recently boosted pay.

The average salary for grads has been set at £30,000 since 2015. This year however, the UK’s 100 most popular employers are expected to raise it to £32,000, according to a report from research firm High Flier.

The £2,000 bump is the highest increase since 2010, when salaries rose from £27,000 to £29,000.

Not only that, but the number of grad jobs up for grabs are increasing by 16 per cent to more than 28,000 – representing the largest annual rise in recruitment for more than 15 years. Accounting and professional services firms will be the biggest recruiters of new graduates, the report said, with a record 7,400 vacancies.

Grads getting the highest salaries were focused in the financial services industry – with investment banks and law firms paying £50,000 on average.

After university-leavers in 2020 faced a difficult job market, with a 12 per cent drop in entry-level hires, the class of 2022 are set to do much better. The number of vacancies this year is 11 per cent higher than the peak, recorded in 2019.