The proportion of graduates in full-time work has dipped for the first time in three years, while a trend of growing dissatisfaction among international students has continued.

released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency on 17 July shows 59 per cent of graduates from 2022-23?say they?are in full-time employment 15 months after leaving higher education.

This was down on the 61 per cent recorded in 2020-21 and 2021-22 but higher than the two cohorts prior to this, whose employment prospects may have been more affected by the Covid pandemic.

Unemployment increased by 1 percentage point while the proportion of graduates entering full-time further study has dropped to?only 5 per cent, down from 8 per cent in 2019-20. In total 82 per cent of respondents are in employment or unpaid work.

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It was the first year the survey response rate dropped below 50 per cent in the UK, with?only 47 per cent of eligible graduates completing it.

The proportion of graduates expressing satisfaction with their degree outcomes has remained steady. Eighty-three per cent of UK undergraduates agree that their activity at the time of the survey was meaningful, 74 per cent agree that it fit with their future plans and 65 per cent agree that they were using what they had learned during their studies ¨C broadly the same numbers as a year ago.

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While most students from outside the UK and European Union also agree with these sentiments, the proportion disagreeing has increased every year for the five years the survey has been run.

In this year¡¯²õ study, 24 per cent of international students feel they are not using what they learned during their studies, up from 19 per cent a year ago and 12 per cent in 2018-19.

Thirteen per cent disagree that their current activity is ¡°meaningful¡± ¨C more than double the figure five years ago.

Despite dips in employment, the median salary for graduates has increased by ?1,000 from ?27,500 last year to ?28,500, the survey shows.

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Of all the graduates in full-time paid employment in the UK, 17 per cent are in the ?30,000-?32,999 salary band, while 15 per cent earn between ?27,000 and ?29,999.

Graduates from science subjects earn more on average ¨C ?29,498 ¨C than the ?27,998 earned by those from non-science subjects. Medicine and dentistry graduates recorded the highest median salary, while graduates from media, journalism and communications subjects recorded the lowest.

Graduates of science subjects are also more likely to be in full-time employment and be in high-skilled jobs compared?with those who didn¡¯t study a science degree.

Joe Marshall, the chief executive of the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB), said it was ¡°encouraging¡± to see graduates achieving ¡°strong outcomes¡±, particularly at a time of worsening unemployment overall.?

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This, he said, demonstrated ¡°a resilient pipeline of opportunity for graduates and the continued value of a university education¡±.

¡°Graduate talent is critical to the UK¡¯²õ future ¨C not just for individual prosperity, but for wider economic growth and innovation. These results underline the vital role that universities play in preparing young people to navigate an evolving labour market.¡±

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In order to maintain strong graduate outcomes, Marshall said ¡°we need to continue investing in the partnerships that connect students to work ¨C including placements, co-designed courses, and clearer pathways into priority sectors¡±.

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com