Nearly one in 11 graduates are unemployed six months after leaving university – the highest proportion for 17 years, a study reveals today。

　　Rising numbers are taking jobs that do not require degrees, including as waiters and checkout workers, the survey of almost 225,000 graduates shows。

　　The poll, by the Higher Education Careers Services Unit charity, covered 82% of those who completed an undergraduate degree last summer and live in the UK. The pollsters interviewed the graduates in January – six months after they left university. It comes as ministers plan to substantially increase the amount graduates pay for their degrees。

　　The study found 8.9% of graduates, or just over 21,000, were out of a job after six months, a one percentage point rise on the previous year。

　　The proportion of university leavers with a graduate-level job – as defined by the government – has dropped 3.3 points to 62.4%， the charity found. The proportion working in retail and catering rose by 3.8 points to 14.4% – about one in seven。

　　The mean starting salary for graduates has not kept pace with inflation and is now £19,695 – an £18 rise on last year, the survey found. Those who had studied Chinese had the highest starting salary at £24,540 a year, while fine art graduates started on the lowest wage at £14,625.

　　Some 59.2% of the graduates were employed, compared with 61.4% the previous year. Some 15.4% were studying or in training, up from 14.1%. A further 8% were taking postgraduate degrees, down 0.1%。

　　The public sector is one of "very few" areas that has continued to recruit graduates in the recession, the charity said, fuelling fears as the sector prepares to shed hundreds of thousands of roles。

　　The government describes engineering degrees as "strategically important" for the economy. But 11.9% of civil engineering graduates were out of work six months after they graduated, as were 11.8% of mechanical engineering graduates. Geography and psychology graduates were least likely to be unemployed. Some 7.4% and 8.3% were out of a job respectively。

　　Charlie Ball, the charity's deputy research director, said he expected employment rates to rise, but added: "With the anticipated public sector job cuts, the future in the medium-term looks less clear. It depends on what the government does and how the private sector reacts. This will determine things for graduates for the next three to four years."

　　英国今日发布的一项调查显示，近1/11的大学毕业生在离校六个月后还未能就业，达到了17年来的最高比例。

　　该调查覆盖了近22.5万名毕业生。结果显示，越来越多的毕业生开始选择那些不需要学位的岗位，其中包括服务员和收银人员。

　　此次调查由慈善机构高等教育就业服务处进行。调查涵盖了去年夏季在英国取得本科学位且目前在英国生活的82%的毕业生。调查人员于今年一月份，即毕业生离校六个月之后，对他们进行了访问。调查进行之时，恰逢多位部长计划要大幅提高大学生的学费。

　　该研究发现，8.9%的毕业生(2.1万多人)在毕业六个月后还没有工作，与去年相比上升了一个百分点。

　　该慈善机构还发现，大学毕业生从事政府定义下和自身学历相符的工作的人数比例下降了3.3%，为62.4%。而在零售业和餐饮业工作的人数比例上升了3.8%，达到14.4%(约为七分之一)。

　　调查发现，毕业生微薄的起薪赶不上通货膨胀的速度。目前大学毕业生的起薪平均为19695英镑，与去年相比增加了18英镑。那些学习过汉语的毕业生起薪最高，年薪2.45万英镑。而艺术专业的毕业生起薪最低，仅为14625英镑。

　　曾经工作过的毕业生约占59.2%，而去年这一比例为61.4%。正在学习或接受培训的人约占15.4%，高于去年的14.1%。还有8%的人在攻读硕士学位，同比下降0.1%。

　　该慈善机构称，在经济衰退期间，公共行业是继续招聘毕业生的“极少数”领域之一。然而由于公共行业现在预备裁员数十万，引发了人们的担忧。

　　英国政府称工程学学位对经济发展具有“重要的战略意义”。但是，11.9%的土木工程专业毕业生、11.8%的机械工程专业毕业生在毕业六个月后仍然没有工作。地理和心理学专业毕业生失业率最低，其失业比例分别为7.4%和8.3%。

　　该慈善机构研究处副主任查理•波尔表示，他认为就业率将会上升，但是他也表示：“随着公共部门进行预期裁员，中期内的就业前景还不是很明确。这将取决于政府的行动以及私有企业的反应。这些因素都将决定未来三到四年内毕业生的就业状况。”