Graduate job vacancies drop by almost 50% in a year

The number of graduate jobs has fallen almost in half in the past year, according to new figures, as employers cut entry-level roles in favour of AI and battle rising costs. Jobs website Adzuna said it had just 8,383 graduate vacancies listed in July, down from 15,397 at the same point last year. Adzuna also found competition among job seekers across all levels is rising, with an average of 2.14 job seekers per vacancy in July, up from 1.93 a year earlier. Businesses have said employer national insurance and minimum wage hikes have made hiring more expensive, particularly for junior staff. The number of graduate vacancies listed hit its lowest level since Adzuna started recording such data in 2016.