Patterns of change in U.K. graduate unemployment, 1962–87

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the changing pattern over time of unemployment among U.K. graduates at the outset and during the early stages of their careers. It is argued that, although the topic is highly relevant to a wide range of policy issues it has, as yet, received only limited attention from researchers. In the paper, unemployment trends in aggregate, by faculty and by subject are examined, using data from the annual First Destination Return, first compiled for the 1961/2 university graduates, and the 1970 and 1980 Graduate cohort surveys. In addition, differences related to gender and also to type of institution of study are identified, and the relationship between new graduate unemployment and unemployment in the U.K. economy as a whole is investigated. It is demonstrated that the basic trend of new graduate unemployment follows closely that of economy-wide unemployment, but that, within the graduate labour market, there is substantial, and persisting, variation across faculties and subjects. Possible explanations of this variation, arising from differing strengths of demand and supply, are suggested and the paper concludes that there is therefore scope for influence on the graduate labour market to bring about a closer correspondence of demand and supply.