A lot of attention is placed on outcomes after graduation. Using HESA's Graduate Outcomes data, we answer the most common graduate employment questions
How many first-degree graduates are there each year?
According to Graduate Outcomes, 408,115 people graduated from a UK higher education provider in 2022. For UK-domiciled first-degree graduates, the figure is 329,535.
Which industries do they work in after completing their first degree?
The industries graduates work in can vary based on their field of study. However, for UK-domiciled first-degree graduates in 2022, a significant number entered the health (18.5%), education (11.8%), and business and finance (9.5%) sectors. The most popular occupational groups were:
- health professionals (15.9%) business
- business, HR and finance professionals (11%)
- clerical, secretarial, administrative (8.4%).
What percentage of graduates are on a zero-hours contract after graduation?
Zero-hours contracts might not be the most popular route to pursue after graduation, but they can offer flexibility, which might be appealing to some graduates, especially those seeking to balance work with other commitments or further studies. In 2022, 5.4% of graduates were employed on zero-hours contracts.
The majority of these individuals were in non-professional level work, and many were working as bar staff, waiters and waitresses, sales and retail assistants and care workers.
How many go on to do voluntary or unpaid work?
Graduates can also pursue voluntary work to improve their employability prospects. The Graduate Outcomes data shows that, in 2022, a small proportion (2.1%) of graduates worked as volunteers.
A small percentage (1.1%) of graduates were in unpaid work. The most common occupations among those who worked unpaid were:
- sales and retail assistants
- welfare and housing associate professionals
- sports coaches, instructors and officials.
Do many go into self-employment straight after university?
In 2022, 7.5% of UK-domiciled first-degree graduates were self-employed/freelancing 15 months after graduation. A considerable proportion of those with an arts background (music, design and photography graduates) are employed on this basis.
It is therefore unsurprising that 26.6% of graduates who were self-employed became arts, design and media professionals.
Are many graduates in jobs that are classified as 'graduate occupations'?
Currently there is no formal and widely agreed definition of what a graduate job is, although we can use the Graduate Outcomes data to see how many graduates were employed in a professional-level role. A professional-level role classed as such using the Standard Occupational Classification system used by the Office of National Statistics and other bodies to identify different kinds of job.
Most jobs that require a degree (but not all) are also in the professional-level group and most jobs in the professional group (bar a few) require a degree to acquire. On average, 75.1% were in a professional-level job 15 months after graduation in 2022.
A higher proportion of men were in professional-level employment (77.1%) than women (73.6%).
How many graduates are working in a job which required their qualification?
The majority of graduates in a professional-level role stated that their qualification was a formal requirement or gave them an advantage (87%).
Those in non-professional level employment were less likely to report that their degree was required or an advantage (38.7%).
What is the average salary for graduates in the UK?
The average salary for graduates in the UK varies by source. According to HESA's Graduate Outcomes data, those who did not pursue further study earned an average of £28,731.
On the other hand, the Institute of Student Employers (ISE) reports a higher average salary of £32,000. However, it's important to note that ISE's research primarily focuses on large businesses and graduate schemes, which generally results in a higher reported average compared to HESA's figures.
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