Jobs market opens up for graduates as businesses expand

Giant accountancy firm KPMG said the graduate recruitment tracked down with the economy after 2008 but will reverse this year. The firm is taking on 1,000 university leavers in the next intake, a 30pc increase on last year.

Rolls Royce is gearing up for its next graduate round. The automotive company has run a graduate development programme for 25 years and last year recruited 379 graduates up from 242 in 2011, offering placements developing engine fan technology in the civil aerospace market, to working on the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. This year it expects salaries to start at around £26,000.

However, this wage is far higher than many graduate positions. While the number of jobs available is rising, the average starting salary will drop, the IDS warned.

Nearly 60pc of employers froze their graduate starting salaries again last year, continuing a trend from the start of the recession, and 65pc have not increased their rates for 2014.

“Employers should remember that the cost of living has surged in the last few years - and rent and bills will now wipe out a bigger proportion of grads’ pay packet,” said Tanya de Grunwald, founder of careers website, GraduateFog. “All employers must remember their responsibility to pay their young staff a wage they can actually live on. They will also need to pay back their student debt which can be up to £50,000.”

more