Graduates could be entering cautious recruitment market

Companies are cautious about how much to expand in the year ahead, which could affect graduate recruitment opportunities, it has been suggested.

Following the recent economic uncertainty after last year's credit crunch and the US economy's slide towards recession, many firms are more wary of announcing graduate recruitment scheme expansions, Elspeth Farrar, Communications Director for the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services, has said.

Ms Farrar stated that research forecasting a boost in the number of graduate vacancies may not be accurate.

Commenting on the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) Winter Review, Ms Farrar noted that the predicted rise in vacancies may not be true, as the survey was taken at a time when the future of the economy was more uncertain.

However, she said: 'The information I'm getting from companies is that they are not, at the moment, predicting any reductions in recruitment patterns.'

The AGR survey revealed that graduate vacancies have increased for the fifth year running.