Graduate jobs dilemma

A survey of the top 100 graduate employers has shown that vacancies have dropped by more than a quarter this year. More than 8% of graduates, around 16,835, were still unemployed six months after finishing their studies, a rise of 2% on the previous year. And those that did find work were often found to have taken low paid retail jobs. Experts are predicting doom and gloom for those graduating in the summer of 2009.Nearly half of all firms will not be looking to hire graduates or school-leavers in the months ahead, according to a report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).