Businesses still looking for graduates, says expert

An expert has claimed that British businesses are still recruiting significant numbers of recent graduates, despite concerns that the fragile state of the economy has harmed their job prospects.

Work Wise UK chief executive Phil Flaxton acknowledged that the employment market can be particularly challenging for job hunters but insisted the outlook is not entirely gloomy, with further opportunities set to arise from ongoing staff turnover.

"Because of natural attrition, people leave, retire and those people have to be replaced," he explained. "Some [graduates] have every right to be optimistic, but there is another element who will find it harder."

Mr Flaxton added that recent calls from thinktank Demos for stronger regulations relating to internships may be somewhat wide of the mark, as many employers have already tightened up their own codes of conduct.

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Last month, figures released by the Office for National Statistics revealed that the number of people unemployed for longer than 12 months increased by 33,000 during the second quarter of the year.

Posted by Cameron Thomson