Science and technology to create one in four new jobs 12 October 2012

Graduates studying science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) will benefit from higher salaries and better job prospects than all others as the UK economy undergoes a science and technology boom over the next five years.

That's chief among the findings of new research conducted by the Centre for Business and Economic Reserch (CEBR), commissioned by Staffordshire University, ahead of the opening of its £30m Science Centre.

Its study reveals that science and technology industries are experiencing robust growth during the general economic downturn, with consequential increases in job numbers and graduate opportunities.

Indeed, the report suggests that approximately 140,000 new STEM-related jobs will be created by 2016—17. By 2017, it forecasts that STEM-related occupations will account for 7.1% of all UK jobs.

As a result, the report authors claim STEM graduates can expect to find their entry into the job market significantly easier than graduates with non-STEM degrees.

And while unemployment among graduates is forecast to rise, STEM graduates will fare better. In the future, unemployment for STEM graduates in the 2012—13 financial year is forecast to be 9.2%, which compares well to a predicted unemployment rate for non-STEM graduates of 10.8%.

Brian Tinham

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