High Fliers Research has published results of the Graduate Market in 2012 review of graduate vacancies and salaries at The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers, indicating an expected increase in graduate recruitment by 6.4 per cent in 2012.
Growth areas (with increase in graduate jobs shown in brackets) are expected to include:
IT and telecommunications (up 31.6%)
Engineering and industrial (up 22.4%)
Public sector (up 21.9%)
Chemical and pharmaceuticals (up 19.6%)
Banking and finance (up 16.0%)
Oil and energy (up 11.7%)
Retail (up 11.5%)
Graduate starting salaries in the companies surveyed are expected to remain at an average of £29,000 for the third consecutive year.
More than half of recruiters surveyed warned that graduates with no previous work experience have little or no chance of getting on their graduate programmes. The OU careers website has some useful advice on the benefits of work experience and how to find opportunities.