The number of opportunities available for graduates has fallen drastically. According to data from Reed recruitment there has been a 40% decline in positions marked 'suitable for graduate's since 2018.
That is a staggering decrease in just six years.
Down from around 22K postings a month in 2018 to only 1200 a month in 2024.
Why the decline...?
Analysis from Bloomberg puts it down to employers being reluctant to employ fresh graduates when they lack the experience, and there is also the possibility that this may be due to Covid... the kids graduating in 2024 would have missed out on a lot of real world experience due to lockdowns.
In short, they may be being perceived as damaged goods.
Add to this that there are more 25-40 year old graduates who have completed masters degrees or come back from working abroad who are happy to take on graduate level jobs, besides being that bit older, they basically don't want to grow up anytime soon.
And (my analysis) there are likely to be a lot of 50 somethings looking to transition into other careers, a short-spell before retirement, like me.
So why advertise to graduates when you can get a broader array of candidates by advertising the same entry-level jobs that six years ago would have been 'for graduates' in a different way, and just advertise them more broadly.
Two problems....
The first is that with increased demand for graduate level jobs, wages for them have come down.
Those fresh out of university are eeling this... Salaries of the newly graduated have fallen in real terms over the past 20 years by 4% on average, while the minimum wage has risen by 60%.
In sectors such as publishing and journalism, young graduates struggle to land jobs with starting salaries barely above the £25,000 a year a minimum-wage worker can now earn for stacking shelves.
And this trend isn't likely to change anytime soon as AI is advancing into previously safe careers such as accountancy and law.
Now this doesn't bother me so much, I've made my money, I'm much more able to take on a graduate level job for a change of seen for just above minimum wage, that's all I need - pension already plump, mortgage nearly paid off, investments healthy, and there are plenty 50 somethings like me around.
And people like me just adds to the malaise of the young graduates, and hence this contributes to the second problem...
The huge proportion of young graduates who are simply not engaging with the job market at all... off long-term sick with mental health problems leaning on their parents.
To be fair that may well have been how I ended up if I'd have been born 25 years or so later.
I've no idea what the solution is for them, things are tough out there!