Home > Job News > Graduates > Graduates Typically Earn £10,000 More Per Annum Than Non-Graduates < Job News and Info

New figures from the Department for Education reveal that, in 2017, the typical graduate earned £10,000 per year more than their non-graduate counterparts.

The so-called ‘graduate premium’ has remained largely unchanged over the past decade, despite the number of people going to university rising by almost 30 per cent.

Overall average graduate salaries have increased by £1,000 to £33,000 over the year to the end of 2017.

In 2007, the average non-graduate salary was £20,000 but has now increased to £23,000. Over the same time frame, graduate salaries have risen from £30,000 to £33,000, meaning that the graduate premium has remained the same at around £10,000.

As a percentage, though, the graduate premium has actually dropped over the last ten years from 50 per cent to 43 per cent.

Across the whole job market in the UK, the Bank of England said: “Over the past 20 years, as the United Kingdom’s workforce has become more educated, moved to higher-skilled roles and aged, these effects are estimated to have pushed up on annual wage growth by an average of roughly half a percentage point.”

The universities minister, Sam Gyimah, quoted figures from the Department for Education which showed that over 65 per cent of graduates were now in high-skilled employment compared with just 22 of non-graduates.

Continuing in education to Post Graduate level brings even more financial rewards, with post-grads earning on average £6,000 more than graduates, which equates to an overall average of salary of £39,000.

The unemployment rate for graduates fell slightly between 2017 and 2016, from 2.9 per cent down to 2.8 per cent . For non-graduates the unemployment rate stood at 5.3 per cent at the end of 2017.

No matter whether you are based in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, we want to help you find the best-paying graduate jobs in the United Kingdom. From aeronautical jobs to zoology jobs, we run the whole A to Z of graduate vacancies in the UK. See if you can find your ideal position today in our Graduate Jobs section.