HESA's Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education 2005/06, published this week, reveals that levels of unemployment vary by degree classification. Graduates obtaining the lowest degree classifications are around two and a half times more likely to be unemployed six months after graduating than those obtaining firsts.
The publication, produced from the annual Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) Survey, reveals that 4.4% and 5.7% of students obtaining, through full-time study, first and upper second class honours respectively are "assumed to be unemployed"; that is those not in full-time study who reported themselves as unemployed and looking for employment, further study or training, or those due to start a job in the next month. In comparison, 8.1% of students were assumed to be unemployed when qualifying with a lower second, this rose to 11.3% for a third - a little over two and a half times the rate of those with a first and nearly twice the overall rate of 6.4%.