New research from the Institute of Student Employers (ISE), published this week, shows graduate hiring rose 4% in 2025/26, after an 8% decline the previous year.
That’s particularly encouraging against the backdrop of the wider UK jobs market. According to the Office for National Statistics, overall vacancies fell by 4.9% year on year to 702,000 in June to August 2026.
That sounds encouraging. Until you look at the number of applications.
Employers are now receiving an average of 141 applications for every graduate vacancy, rising to 172 in London.
So why is finding a graduate job still so competitive?
Are graduates simply applying for more jobs?
That’s likely part of the answer.
With competition so intense, graduates may feel they need to apply for as many positions as possible to increase their chances. AI is also making applications quicker and easier to produce.
However, the ISE figures measure applications, not individual applicants, so we can’t know exactly how much of the increase comes from graduates applying for more roles.
And the recovery remains uneven. While 45% of employers increased graduate recruitment, 40% reduced it.
According to analysis reported by the Financial Times, much of the growth came from a relatively small number of large employers. Excluding those employers, recruitment increased by just 0.8%.
Even internships are becoming harder to secure
Perhaps more concerning is what’s happening before students graduate.
Applications for internships increased 27%, while the number of opportunities fell by 8%. Employers now receive an average of 102 applications for each internship.
Students are competing earlier in their university journey, hoping work experience will give them an advantage when applying for graduate roles.
But if internships are becoming harder to secure, how do students gain the experience employers want?
What are universities doing to help?
Universities recognize the importance of employability and offer careers support, placements, and opportunities to gain practical experience. But some are going further with specific commitments to students.
The University of East London has introduced a Careers Guarantee for every student, embedding practical experience, live employer projects and career-focused skills development into university life. It also works with more than 2,500 businesses to help students build industry connections.
Meanwhile, De Montfort University offers eligible graduates a paid internship if they haven’t secured a graduate-level job within 12 months of completing their degree. More than 2,500 graduates have benefited from the scheme since 2013.
Both approaches recognise that employability support needs to go beyond careers advice, helping students gain experience during their studies or giving them additional opportunities after graduation.
Are universities preparing students for the jobs AI is changing?
There’s another challenge emerging.
Recent Bett research found that 77% of surveyed Russell Group students felt their courses taught them little or nothing about how AI would be used in their future careers, compared with 64% at post-1992 universities.
With AI changing both recruitment processes and the workplace itself, preparing students for those changes is becoming increasingly important.
What does this mean for student recruitment?
Employability has always influenced university choice, but prospective students may now be looking beyond headline graduate employment statistics.
They want to know what opportunities they’ll have to gain experience, build industry connections and develop skills that employers actually value.
For universities, that means showing students what support they’ll receive throughout their degree, rather than focusing solely on outcomes after graduation.
The latest figures offer some encouragement that graduate recruitment is recovering.
But with applications rising much faster than opportunities, helping students stand out could become just as important as helping them graduate.
Want to make employability a stronger part of your student recruitment strategy? Get in touch with the Hunterlodge team.