Over three quarters of bachelor degree graduates found full-time jobs within four months of graduating in 2010, a survey has found. Graduate Careers Australia found 76.2% of graduates in 2010 looking for work found full-time employment soon after their degree.
The figure was down 3% from 2009 and 9% from 2008, as the global financial crisis continues to take its toll.
However, in its report, Graduate Careers said: "While this may seem like a considerable decline, it was mild in comparison to the recession of the early 1990s, when this figure dropped by almost 11 percentage points over the course of one year and more than 20 percentage points over three years."
Research from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that in the long term, unemployment rates for graduates are much lower than those in the general labour force.
Most 2010 graduates – 64.7% - were looking for full-time work in the months after graduating. The remainder went into further full-time study or were looking for part-time jobs only.
Graduate Careers Australia conducts an annual survey of higher education graduates in the months after completing their degrees. The results can be helpful to students considering a tertiary qualification.