In the US, unemployment among recent college graduates is up 1.3 percentage points from its mid-2022 low, but by almost double that among recent labour market entrants without a degree, who have seen a 2.4 point rise. This is very different to the much more modest 0.7 point rise among the frequently — but inappropriately — cited group of non-grads in their mid-twenties who are sheltered from today’s harsh hiring conditions.

The FT finally stating what others in HE policy have been saying for years: that graduate outcome metrics tell us far more about the economy that students graduate into than the skill levels of those graduates or the quality of their education!