Pandemic graduates face reduced job chances

The latest Graduate Outcome Survey found tha overall unemployment for graduates stood at 8.1%, almost double the rate recorded for graduates in the previous survey in 2018.

The first wave of pandemic graduates left college with reduced employment chances and fewer opportunities to see the world, a survey by the Higher Education Authority has confirmed.

The latest Graduate Outcome Survey gives a snapshot of the lives of college-leavers nine months after they departed third level education, highlighting broad-ranging trends on earnings, employment and travel.

It found that Covid-19 took its toll on the class of 2020, with graduates more likely to be looking for a job than their counterparts pre-pandemic.

Overall unemployment for graduates stood at 8.1%, almost double the rate recorded for graduates in the previous survey in 2018.

More than half of unemployed graduates (53.9%) had been looking for a job since graduation, up from 34.9% two years earlier.

However, despite bleak public health restrictions, more than three-quarters of graduates were in employment, working full time or part-time, or due to start a job in the next three months.

The survey said the most common fields of study are business, administration, and law (25.9%), health and welfare (15.1%), and arts and humanities (12.4%).

It found that:

• Two out of five college graduates were working in Dublin;
• Almost 46% were earning between €25,000 to €34,999;
• Nearly two-thirds (64.3%) of graduates are on permanent or open-ended contracts, up from 61.9%;
• The gender earnings gap between male and female graduates was €4,740;
• The class of 2020 was far less likely to be travelling compared to previous years, with just 9.5% telling the survey they took time out to travel, compared to 23.1% in the previous survey in 2018;
• Almost 14% of graduates were attending further study nine months after graduation, up from 12.6%;
• Information and communication technology graduates have the highest proportion earning over €40,000 nine months after graduation at 44.1%.

This year’s report is particularly relevant as it shows the impact of the pandemic on recent graduates, said Alan Wall, HEA CEO.

“This detailed dataset will help institutions and other stakeholders in providing students with appropriate career advice and relevant information on their course choices,” he added.

Simon Harris, the Minister for Further and Higher Education, said the report “provides key information on the destinations and outcomes for our recent graduates”.

“It gives new insights about the impact of Covid-19 on student employment and further study, during a period of unprecedented change in key parts of the economy.”