Graduate joblessness ‘to rise in next decade’

GRADUATE underemployment is likely to increase in the next 10 years as more people get university degrees, according to a new study.

The findings highlight the gap between the supply of graduates and high-skilled jobs across European countries.

Researchers found that the proportion of the population with tertiary qualifications is increasing in all countries studied, and predict the trend will continue.

The study revealed a mixed picture of good and bad developments in the graduate labour market.

While the UK and Ireland, along with Nordic countries, have recorded a growth in high-skilled jobs in recent years, the study concludes that most developed western countries face an increase in underemployment over the coming decade.

In most countries, the average graduate earnings premium, relative to workers with upper secondary education, has remained largely stationary, found the study, published as a Centre for Global Higher Education (CGHE) working paper today.

University College London (UCL) Professor Francis Green, who co-authored the working paper, said: “The prospects for a successfully employed and contented graduate workforce in the coming decade look far from rosy.”

Researchers also warned that a potential new wave of technology could also affect jobs and pointed to the stagnation in the demand for high skills in the United States.

A separate study by the same authors investigating jobs in 31 countries found that almost a third required a degree.