Nearly three-quarters (72%) of respondents plan to freeze starting salaries for graduates over the next year, according to research by Incomes Data Services (IDS).
Its annual Pay and progression for graduates 2013 report, which surveyed 93 large organisations, also found that with inflation running at 2.8%, the pay freeze equates to a pay cut in real terms for graduates.
The report also showed that:
- Median graduate starting salaries are set to remain at £25,500 until at least 2014.
- Employers are restraining graduate pay due to continued fear over the economy.
- The finance and legal sectors remain the highest-paying sectors for graduates.
- The median graduate starting salary in the legal sector is £36,500, while the median pay for finance graduates is £29,250.
Nasreen Rahman, assistant editor at IDS (pictured), said: “Key graduate recruiters, like the legal and finance industries, are cautious about hiring large numbers of graduates, but are still offering competitive salaries to lure the cream of the crop.”
