BBC News - Fall in graduate vacancies sees 85 apply for each job - survey finds 10 July 2013 Last updated at 03:08 By Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent This summer's university leavers face a tougher jobs market, with a forecast of a 4% fall in graduate vacancies. The Association of Graduate Recruiter (AGR) annual summer survey shows that leading UK employers are receiving 85 applications for each job. The survey shows a sharp downturn in jobs in banking and finance. "The current graduate market is the story of the economy, stagnant in places with growth in some areas," says the AGR's Stephen Isherwood. The president of the National Union of Students, Toni Pearce, said: "While some areas are performing better than others it's clear that those leaving education face ever greater competition for jobs." This latest view of the graduate jobs market, based on 200 employers, suggests a mixed picture, with some recruitment areas getting tougher, while others are improving. Pockets of growth Engineering, energy and telecommunications are all identified as areas of the jobs market with increasing numbers of vacancies. There were also "pockets of growth" outside London, says the report, including in the south-east of England, the West Midlands and Scotland. Salary levels continue to stagnate - and the highest median starting pay level remains in London at £28,500. Stephen Isherwood, the new AGR chief executive, said: "Overall vacancies are slightly down on last year and there is no salary growth. However we can take comfort in the fact that the graduate recruitment industry is still investing heavily in their graduate intakes. On the positive side of things, retailers, consulting and engineering firms, utilities and IT and telecoms companies are all recruiting more graduates. With these results in mind, my message to students is do not despair; graduate employers are broadly hiring the same number of graduates as they did before the credit crunch hit. Be competitive and strategic in your approach to applications - and keep persevering.