Fall in this summer`s graduate jobs - graduate jobs

With this summer`s graduate jobs dropping by nearly a fifth and the majority already filled, many students will be facing a difficult year.

Companies started cutting back their graduate recruitment plans 12 months ago, according to market research firm High Fliers.

The worst hit areas were City jobs such as investment banking, while the public sector showed the biggest increase.

A total of 100 companies were surveyed and two out of three said they said they had seen a rise in applications.

The results also echoed the fears of 1,000 final year students who said they were concerned about securing a graduate job and only 13% said they were confident they would get their deserved position.

Martin Birchall, managing director of High Fliers, said: "These swingeing cuts in graduate recruitment at Britain's best known and most sought after employers are very bad news for anyone leaving university this summer.

"Not only have vacancies been reduced substantially for those finishing university in 2009, but it is now clear that many of last year's entry-level jobs did not materialise either, leaving many graduates from the class of 2008 out of work too."