Graduate Outcomes 2021/22: Summary Statistics - Summary
- Summary
- Graduate activities and characteristics
- Activities by previous study characteristics
- Graduate salaries and work locations
- Graduate reflections on activities
- Notes
We have identified a minor issue with the 2021/22 Graduate Outcomes data and statistics published on 13 June 2024.
Some open data tables, charts and commentary that make use of the following data fields (either as a breakdown or a data restriction) differed from the data we previously provided to HE providers, funders and regulators:
- Standard Occupational Classification (SOC - the skill level of jobs)
- Standard Industrial Classification (SIC - industry of employment)
- Location of employment (including tables restricted to graduates in UK employment)
This issue was due to data publications inadvertently using a version of the Graduate Outcomes data to which a final stage of processing had not been applied. The full list of impacted tables can be found below.
Scale and impact
This affects 17 of 49 tables and charts across both the summary statistics and open data repository. The impact of the issue on each individual table is small, affecting very small proportions of graduates in each case. To quantify this, the percentage of survey respondents with a change to SIC and SOC data is 1.7% and 0.6% respectively, with 0.2% showing a change in location of employment.
Actions for data users
Although the impact on the tables listed below is small, we aim to re-publish with the correct data by Friday 5 July. This message will be updated when this is complete.
Given the minor impact, we recommend that users be mindful when using the affected data while we compile updated versions of the tables. We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused by this issue.
Impacted tables
|
Table/chart |
Affected fields |
|---|---|
|
Chart 12 - Graduates' reflection on activity by salary band |
SOC, Location |
|
Chart 13 - Graduates in UK work by main reason for taking the job and skill group |
SOC, Location |
|
Chart 14 - Graduates working for an employer in the UK by qualification required for the job and skill group |
SOC, Location |
|
Chart 15 - Reflections of graduates working for an employer in the UK by employment contract basis |
SOC, Location |
|
Figure 7 - Employment basis of graduates working for an employer in the UK by level of qualification obtained |
Location |
|
Figure 11 - Standard industrial classification of graduates entering work in the UK by subject area of degree |
SIC, Location |
|
Figure 12 - Standard occupational classification of graduates entering work in the UK by subject area of degree |
SOC, Location |
|
Figure 13 - Percentage of graduates in full-time paid employment in the UK by salary band and personal characteristics |
Location |
|
Figure 14 - Weighted median salary of UK domiciled full-time graduates who obtained first degree qualifications and entered full-time paid employment in the UK by subject area of degree and skill marker |
SOC, Location |
|
Figure 15 - UK domiciled graduates entering work in the UK by region of domicile, region of provider and region of work |
Location |
|
Figure 16 - UK domiciled graduates entering work in the UK by region of domicile, region of provider and region of work |
Location |
|
Table 19 - Standard industrial classification of graduates entering work in the UK by provider |
SIC, Location |
|
Table 22 - Standard occupational classification of graduates entering work in the UK by provider |
SOC, Location |
|
Table 23 - Standard industrial classification of graduates entering work in the UK by standard occupational classification |
SIC, SOC, Location |
|
Table 24 - UK domiciled graduates in full-time paid employment in the UK by personal characteristics and salary band |
SOC, Location |
|
Table 26 - UK domiciled graduates who obtained first degree qualifications and entered full-time paid employment in the UK by provider and salary band |
SOC, Location |
|
Table 30 - UK domiciled graduates in full-time paid employment in the UK by subject area of degree and salary band |
SOC, Location |
If you have any questions about these tables please contact [email protected].
Summary
Figure 1 - Graduate outcomes by activity
Academic years 2017/18 to 2021/22
- Among 2021/22 graduates, 83% of respondents were in employment or unpaid work. The majority of these graduates were engaged in full-time employment (61%), with 11% of graduates being engaged in part-time employment and 10% in employment and further study.
- Unemployment accounted for 5% of responses among 2021/22 graduates, the same as 2020/21. This was down 1 percentage point on 2019/20.
- The proportion of graduates engaged in full-time further study has decreased by 1 percentage point each year since 2019/20.
Figure 2 - Weighted median salaries of full-time graduates who obtained first degree qualifications and entered full-time paid employment in the UK
Academic year 2021/22
From 2021/22 median salary is calculated to the nearest £1, previously this was to the nearest £500. We advise caution when comparing data of this figure to that of previous years.
Both historically and in this release, earnings data reported by HESA are in nominal terms. This means graduate earnings have not been adjusted for inflation to reflect the purchasing power of those earnings. Therefore, caution is advised when comparing salary data across years.
- When considering all skill levels combined, male full-time, first degree graduates in full-time paid employment in the UK have a greater median salary than females, with a difference of nearly £1,500.
- When considering skill level, the pay gap between male and female graduates at the time of the 2021/22 survey was greatest among those in the high skilled employment, with a difference of nearly £2,000.
- For both males and females, there was a larger gap between the median pay of medium and high skilled workers compared with the gap between pay of low and medium skilled workers.
Weighted median salary is a way of calculating the middle salary (50th percentile) when there are different groups or categories involved. This method accounts for groups of different sizes, giving more weight to groups with more people. This means the salaries of graduates from smaller groups are not over-represented and don't have a disproportionate effect on the overall median.
To find the weighted median salary, we first arrange the salaries from lowest to highest. Then, we calculate the cumulative proportion of people in each group as we go along. The weighted median is the salary where the cumulative proportion or total weight to the left of the median salary equals half of the total weight. When there is no such value, linear interpolation is performed. If the weights are equal, then the weighted median is equivalent to the arithmetic median.
About this release
This release is the annual first release of Graduate Outcomes survey data and covers UK higher education providers (HEPs) and further education colleges (FECs) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Data is collected approximately 15 months after HE course completion.
Graduate Outcomes is a survey, which first commenced with the 2017/18 academic year's graduate population. It is conducted differently from previous surveys and produces different information. These statistics are not directly comparable with the results of the earlier Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey.
Following an assessment from the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR), the Graduate Outcomes data publication has been awarded official statistics accreditation. Please see the Graduate Outcomes data awarded official statistics accreditation and OSR report for more detail.
Accompanying this release is more detailed information about the outcomes of graduates from higher education, including outcomes by HE provider, this can be found in our Graduate Outcomes open data repository. A suite of supporting information for the Graduate Outcomes publications can be found in the form of a user guide. This contains the Graduate Outcomes quality report providing the most comprehensive assessment currently available on the quality of the data, including on uses and users of the data. A history and background to the survey and information about the survey design is available in the methodology statement and further detail on approaches and standards for dissemination is available in the dissemination section of the methodology statement.
Please see the definitions for further explanations of the terms used in this release.
Figure 3 - Response rates to the Graduate Outcomes survey by domicile and mode of former study
Academic years 2017/18 to 2021/22
Reset filters | Download chart data (csv) | Download source data (csv) | About SB268 Figure 3
- There were 351,220 graduates who responded to the 2021/22 Graduate Outcomes survey from the target population of 870,295, a rate of 40% complete responses. When including graduates who partially completed the survey, this response rate rises to 44%, increasing the number of usable responses to 381,945.
- The response rate (including survey partial completed response rate) of non-European Union domiciled graduates has decreased from 18% in 2020/21 to 14% in 2021/22. This follows a decrease from 36% in 2019/20, after the decision to cease calling non-EU international graduates, as covered in Our approach to surveying non-EU international graduates. These graduates are surveyed online exclusively.
- The response rate of European Union domiciled graduates has also decreased by 3 percentage points relative to 2020/21.
Data used in this release is based on both complete and partially completed responses.
Where graduates answer the minimum number of core questions relevant to their circumstances, this is known as a complete response. Sometimes graduates don’t answer enough core questions but they may still start the survey. Where they do not answer a sufficient number of core questions but they do at least answer the first two questions, specifying their current activities and most important activity, this is known as a partially completed response. Further detail on this can be found in the Dissemination section of the Methodology statement.
Release date
13 June 2024, 9:30
Coverage
UK
Release frequency
Annual
Themes
Children, education and skills
Issued by
Jisc, Clockwise, Festival House, Jessop Avenue, Cheltenham, GL50 3SH
Press enquiries
+44 (0) 1242 388 513 (option 6), [email protected]
Public enquiries
+44 (0) 1242 388 513 (option 2), [email protected]
Statistician
Luke Perrott
Pre-release access
View pre-release access list for this release
Graduate Outcomes open data repository
View detailed information by provider
User guide
View the Graduate Outcomes user guide
