Graduate employers need tax breaks - graduate jobs

A leading economist has suggested that companies employing graduates should be given tax breaks in a bid to get UK university-leavers into work.

Professor David Blanchflower said the government must 'incentivise' graduate recruitment if the growth of a 'lost generation' of unemployed young people is to be halted.

The call for more funding for youth employment was made by Prof Blanchflower in the Western Mail as he warned of a two-tier graduate employment market where only those with first-class degrees could find suitable work.

The professor, who also wants extra support for students, said that while high-flying graduates would be employed in relevant industries, those with lower qualifications would be forced to accept unskilled work.

The warning follows the economist's call for the Government to scrap planned spending cuts that could push the UK back into recession. Two-thirds of graduate recruiters cut their employment targets for the year, according to research published in July.