What does a Degree get you?

The DfE has recently released its 2016 Graduate Labour Market Statistics report. The main findings are:

• 87.3% of graduates were employed, compared to 70.4% of non-graduates. 
  

• Working age graduates earned on average £9,500 more than non-graduates, while postgraduates earned on average £6,000 more than graduates.  

• Male and female graduates had similar unemployment rates within the working age population, but male graduates had a higher employment rate and a lower inactivity rate than their female counterparts.

• Black graduates had lower high-skilled employment rates, higher unemployment rates, lower inactivity rates and lower median salaries than White graduates and Asian graduates. 

• Degree class appears to have more of an impact for the younger population than overall working age population. Working aged graduates with an upper and lower second degree earned £500 more, on average, than graduates with a first. Young graduates that achieved a first in their degree earned £2,000 and £3,000 more, on average, than those who achieved an upper and lower second, respectively. 

• STEM graduates on average, had higher employment rates, greater high-skilled employment rates, lower unemployment rates and higher median salaries than the graduate population as a whole. 

• However, within the working age population, Law, Economics and Management (LEM) graduates earned, on average, £1,000 more than STEM graduates. There is a similar pattern for the young population, with young LEM graduates earning £2,000 more than young STEM graduates.