Graduates face the worst jobs market on record. Only 8,383 roles for graduates were advertised in July, a 45% drop since last year and the lowest since records began, says a new report published by recruitment website Adzuna.
“As long as I’m in London” was a phrase that clung with queasy excitement to the ends of our answers. We were freshly graduated and being asked about our career prospects. It turns out that our faith in London – its jobs, its living, its promise – was our capital crime.
London has always attracted young graduates. A recent report found that there are 46 per cent more graduates living in London than would be expected from its local population alone. Hordes of young people flock to the capital, Europe’s largest urban economy, to get their share of its spoils. And no wonder - young workers can expect to earn 15% more in London than in the average Travel to Work Area.
But first, a job must be found. And before that, a job application must be sent. Scrap that, dozens of job applications must be sent.
In 2024, the average number of applications per graduate job vacancy was 140, a 59 per cent increase from the previous year. Young people are sending more applications than ever; adopting the shotgun approach, one in five grads apply for 100 jobs or more before they get a hit. It has become a numbers game.
The number of graduate jobs in London has plunged from 13,000 (before Covid) to 2,000, meaning competition is more bitter than ever. Lots of entry level roles in professional services have been swallowed up by automation as tech replaces graduates.
Another reason there are so many applications (and rejections), is because of AI.
As several of my university contemporaries attest, there is little reassurance to be found staring down the barrel of an AI avatar interviewer – the neutral chaos behind their pixelated eyes staring back. AI can interview you, evaluate your CV and cover letter, and reject you with clinical efficiency.
Those who sent between 101-200 job applications were 66 per cent more likely to use AI in their application. It’s easier to send more applications when you’ve got an AI assistant to make them job specific. Young people criticize its use in selection processes whilst using it in their own applications – it’s all very self-devouring snake.
With LinkedIn job-search filters tailored to what might as well be “any job, really, any job in London”, many young grads sacrifice their interests and passions to be shovelled up by the city. The Institute for Student Employers report that 33 per cent of men were “more likely to apply everywhere” out of pure desperation.
With one in four 16-24 year-olds unemployed and job-hunting in the capital – the worst in the UK – the picture does look very bleak. But still the London lodestone attracts. Graduates, maybe it’s time to look local?
