Understanding the Graduate Job Market
graduate pay available at the leading investment banks & fund managers (a median of £60,000), City and international law firms (£56,000) and consulting firms (£50,000). Over a quarter of the employers featured in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers now o!er starting salaries of £50,000 or more for their new recruits. The most enticing salaries publicised within this edition are at law firms White & Case and Latham & Watkins, which are o!ering their new trainees starting salaries of £62,000 and £60,000 respectively in 2027. Away from the legal sector, retailer Aldi continues to pay a sector-leading graduate salary of £52,000, and consulting firm Newton is o!ering a starting salary of £48,000. Two-fifths of the UK’s leading employers recruit graduates year-round, or in di!erent phases during the year, and will accept applications throughout the 2026-2027 recruitment season until all their vacancies are filled. For employers with an annual application deadline, most are in November or December, although a limited number have October or post-Christmas deadlines for their graduate programmes.
roles, general management positions, sales jobs and trainee consultants. One in six of country’s top graduate employers are looking for new recruits to work in marketing or have entry-level roles in science, research & development. There are fewer graduate jobs available in retailing or in more specialist areas, such as logistics & supply chain, property, purchasing and the media. Four-fifths of Top 100 employers have graduate vacancies in London in 2027, and two-thirds have posts available elsewhere in the south east of England. Three-quarters of graduate employers have roles in the north west of England, and more than half are looking for graduates to work in the south west, the Midlands, East Anglia, Yorkshire and the north east. Half are recruiting for graduate positions in Scotland, but Wales and Northern Ireland have the fewest employers with vacancies this year. Graduate starting salaries at The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers changed little between 2012 and 2021, increasing by just £1,000 in this nine-year period to a median of £30,000. But this went up to £32,000 in 2022, the first annual boost in starting salaries for seven years. And it has continued rising since – to £33,500 in 2023, £34,000 in 2024, and £35,000 in 2025 and 2026. Starting salaries are expected to remain at a similar level in 2027, with the most generous
In today’s highly-competitive graduate job market, this means that there’s every incentive to apply early for the range of vacancies available at The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers in 2027. Graduate Vacancies at Top 100 Employers in 2027
2026
GRADUATE VACANCIES IN 2027
% CHANGE IN 2027
% CHANGE IN 2026
MEDIAN STARTING SALARY IN 2027
p 5.0% q 8.0% q 4.0% q 6.6% q 10.1% q 0.3% p 7.1% p 5.3% q 11.3% q 24.7% q 3.6% q 8.8% q 9.7% p 20.0% p 8.1%
q 0.4% q 6.0% q 6.1% q 1.7% q 7.9% q 1.4% p 6.2% q 17.0% p 0.6% q 9.3% q 15.7% q 13.6% q 7.9% NO CHANGE q 3.6%
1. 1 ACCOUNTANCY & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FIRMS 4,625
£32,000 £31,500 £32,000 £60,000 £36,000 £40,000 £35,900 £35,000 £56,000 £29,000 £39,500 £50,000 £35,000 £28,500 £33,600
2. 2 PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYERS
3,355 3,176 2,210 1,770 1,520 1,350
3. 3 ENGINEERING & INDUSTRIAL COMPANIES 4. 4 INVESTMENT BANKS & FUND MANAGERS 5. 5 BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICES
6. 7 TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES
7. 6 ARMED FORCES
8. 8 RETAILERS 9. 10 LAW FIRMS
959 832 653 325 310 215 120
10. 9 MEDIA ORGANISATIONS 11. 11 OIL & ENERGY COMPANIES
12. 12 CONSULTING FIRMS
13. 13 CONSUMER GOODS MANUFACTURERS
14. 14 PROPERTY COMPANIES
15. 15 CHEMICAL & PHARMACEUTICALS COMPANIES
80
Source High Fliers Research
30 TOP 100 GRADUATE EMPLOYERS
Powered by FlippingBook