Almost 50% of employers will not be hiring graduates or school leavers in the coming months ahead, according to a survey of 500 firms by The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD.

Around a third of businesses revealed that they had cut their graduate employees this year as they look to reduce expenditure due to the economic downturn.

"The harsh reality is that it is no longer enough to start thinking about jobs once exams are over," said Ruth Elwood, head of recruitment at accountancy group KPMG, which helped compile the study.

Concerns are mounting that unemployment, which recently rose to a decade high of 2.2m, will surge still higher this summer as new ranks of students struggle to secure jobs.