UK / 46 applications for every graduate vacancy this year

Nearly 50 graduates on average are applying for every job this year amid fierce competition for the best career openings, new research shows.

Well in excess of 100 applications for each position are being sent to some employers, such as consumer goods and media companies.

A report suggests there has been a rise in the number of graduate positions available this summer but warns top companies are still receiving high numbers of applications for every role on offer.

There was an average of 46 applications for every graduate vacancy this year, compared to 51 last year. In 2008, before the recession, there were 35 graduates competing for each job.

Martin Birchall, managing director of High Fliers Research, which conducted the survey, said: ‘It’s great news for the “Class of 2013″ leaving university that graduate recruitment at Britain’s top employers is now at its highest level for five years and that many are expected to expand their graduate vacancies even further in 2014, but our research shows that competition for individual graduate jobs remains fierce.’

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor

via Graduate jobs spark scramble as 46 compete for every post | Metro News.