These are the 10 best and worst UK cities for graduate jobs

We’ve all been there – graduating with a shiny degree in your hands yet no one wants to give you a job.

So if you’re graduating this year then jobs website Adzuna’s research on the best and worst cities for graduates might come in handy.

Based on jobseekers per vacancy, the study found that Cambridge is the best city for grads to find jobs while Sunderland is the worst.

Rather unsurprisingly, London did not make the list of best cities.

The research also found that graduate vacancies are up 16% year-on-year in May, with 15,825 advertised graduate vacancies on offer.

Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, said: “A wave of freshly-minted graduates are about to join the jobs market, and the number of vacancies has risen, affording them more opportunities. Employers are clearly keen to build their junior staff.

“It’s a sign that British businesses are gearing up for the future – we’re moving beyond the short-term firefighting tactics of the early recovery and into steady investment in our future talent.

“Of course, there is a knock-on effect on average advertised salaries. A surge in entry-level positions brings with it a lower average advertised salary for May. But we can’t lay this salary shrinkage entirely at the door of a growth in junior employment. The drop in May’s advertised salaries brings us to three months of consecutive salary reduction, which also reflects a shift to more lower-paid and part-time roles.

“Even with falling prices, which have made consumer goods more affordable in the short term, weakening wages mean people are unlikely to be feeling better off. This is somewhat mitigated by the fact that in-work salaries for existing employees are improving, but it’s still a worrying trend, and we need to keep a watchful eye on future developments.”

The 10 best UK cities for graduate jobs

1. Cambridge

2. Guildford

3. Reading

4. Oxford

5. Winchester

6. Exeter

7. Bristol

8. Manchester

=9 Crawley

=9 Swindon

The 10 worst UK cities for graduate jobs

1. Sunderland

2. Hull

3. Bradford

4. Rochdale

5. The Wirral

6. Belfast

7. Wolverhampton

8. Swansea

9. Middlesbrough

10. Salford

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