[holding answer 15 January 2008]: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 4 February 2008:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply your Parliamentary Question on how many university graduates were registered unemployed in each of the last five years. I am replying in her absence. (179360)
Information on claimants of Job Seekers Allowance, as collected by the Department for Work and Pensions, does not include the type of qualifications held. As an alternative, the Labour Force Survey (LFS) provides the numbers of people who are unemployed according to the ILO (International Labour Organisation) definition and this can be broken down by type of qualification held.
The attached table gives unemployment figures for graduates and all people aged 16+ for the three month period ending June each year, from 2003 to 2007.
The LFS estimates at this detailed level are only consistent with the UK population estimates published in February and March 2003 and they do not incorporate the more recent population estimates that are used in the Labour Market Statistics monthly First Release.
As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
Thousand Total Graduates3 2003 1,401 144 2004 1,368 136 2005 1,364 138 2006 1,604 168 2007 1,573 156 1 According to the ILO (International Labour Organisation) definition of unemployed, i.e. those who are without a job, are available to start work in the next two weeks, who want a job and have been seeking a job in the last four weeks or are waiting to start a job already obtained. 2 For the three-month period. April to June each year. 3 Those who hold qualifications to degree level or higher. Source: ONS Labour Force Survey (LFS).