“This puts paid to confected claims that universities are producing an oversupply of graduates who can’t get a job,” said Universities Australia Chief Executive Belinda Robinson.
The 2016 Graduate Outcomes Survey confirms that a university education remains a good investment.
The fulltime job rate for new university graduates rose two per cent in the past year – up from 68.8 per cent in 2015 to 70.9 per cent in 2016.
The picture was even stronger for people with postgraduate degrees, with 85.1 per cent in fulltime jobs.
Ms Robinson said this continued the trend of job market recovery since the peak of the Global Financial Crisis in 2008.
“We’re seeing recent graduates continue to be in strong demand here in Australia – with the gradual recovery in the labour market lifting the fulltime job prospects of graduates even further,” she said.
“A university education does more than strengthen your job prospects – it also equips people with the breadth of skills they need to navigate a changing economy.”
Employment outcomes improve significantly in the first few years of graduates’ careers. Three years after graduating, almost nine out of ten graduates – 88.4 per cent – were in fulltime work.
Not only are graduate employment figures on the rise, but more graduates are finding managerial or professional roles.
Four out of five graduates are in a fulltime management or professional job three years after graduation.
“This neatly refutes the myth that Australia is awash with overqualified baristas and retail assistants.”
The report also shows that graduate satisfaction with their university experience remains high. More than four out of five students said they were satisfied with their course.
