'Lost' generation

By Patrick Ainley. Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett's sample of the "lost" class of 2005 university graduates (28 December) confirms the findings of larger and more representative surveys that "almost half of those who've graduated in the last five years in the UK are in non-graduate jobs for which they are overqualified and underpaid. This means the average graduate 'starting salary' of £29,000 is a distant dream for many university leavers, as they take anything that's going in a competitive labour market and render it even more difficult for the less-qualified to find work". More...