Scottish graduate jobs rates rise

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Job vacancies for graduates have risen in Scotland - bucking the UK-wide trend of falling recruitment.

A survey of 250 companies by the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) indicated a 14% increase in the number of graduate jobs in Scotland.

Recruitment levels in the UK as a whole are expected to drop by 5%, with salaries frozen at £25,000.

AGR has advised students to take temporary paid work to boost their chances of a permanent job.

AGR members said they had offered 911 vacancies in 2007 in Scotland, which was 4.4% of UK graduate vacancies. The message coming through loud and clear for this year's graduates is research, research and more research Carl GilleardAGR, Chief Executive This year, they put the Scotland jobs figure at 1,031, which was 5.2% of the vacancies potentially on offer across the UK.

However, the salary levels appeared to have dropped from an average of £23,000 in 2008 to £22,00 this year.

Carl Gilleard, chief executive of the AGR, said: "What is certain is that the economic crisis is concentrating employers' minds on the war for the best and most well-informed talent.

"The message coming through loud and clear for this year's graduates is research, research and more research - know your potential employer and know your sector.

"For those who do not secure that dream job first time round, the key is to take some form of paid employment if you can."