UK graduates struggle to find work

LONDON - BRITISH graduates are finding it increasingly difficult to find work after leaving university and government spending cuts could make the situation worse, research published on Monday said.

Around 8.9 per cent of young people who left university in 2009 were still without a job six months later, the Higher Education Careers Services Unit (HECSU), a charity, said.

That was a one percentage point increase on the previous year and the research highlighted particular problems in construction-related sectors such as engineering and architecture.

The HECSU said the picture could get worse as government spending cuts announced last month start to bite in the coming financial year.

The overall unemployment rate in Britain, which emerged from recession at the end of last year, currently stands at 7.7 per cent. The economy grew by 0.8 per cent in the third quarter.

The Office for Budget Responsibility, a financial watchdog, predicts that around half a million public sector jobs will go, while professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers also says the same number will go in the private sector.

-- AFP

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