Explainer: Not the best time to be a university student in the UK
It hasn’t been a very cheerful week in the world of economic news. Today the Bank of England raised interest rates for the thirteenth time in a row. Mortgage payments keep on going up, as rates continue to rise. Everyone is affected – families, individuals young and old, and students too.
It’s not surprising then that the number of full-time students working to sustain themselves has increased from 45 to 55 per cent in the last year, according to a report by the Higher Education Policy Institute. In 2021 the number of students working was 34 per cent.
Having a part-time job while at university is a very common experience. For many students it’s not a choice whether to have one or not, for others it is a great way to become more responsible about money and put a little on the side.
But as the number of hours worked increases, together with the amount of time students spend on coursework, they also feel more and more alone. According to the same report, 26 per cent of full-time students feel lonely all or most of the time, up to 23 per cent last year.
Seventy-six per cent of students categorically said the cost of living crisis had affected their studies.
At the same time, things don’t look much brighter for those who are graduating. The number of entry-level jobs available is way lower than it was in previous years, with The Times reporting the market is at the worst it’s been in seven years.
The Higher Education Statistics Agency predicts that around 570,000 students will graduate in the next few months in the UK. Yet the jobs available on the search engine Dzuna are around 13,000.
The number of opportunities available for graduates is 40 per cent below what it was five years ago, according to data from Reed Recruitment.
Couple that with the cost-of-living crisis and rising rents – reaching the highest in London with a record-high average of £2,500 – and you get a pretty bleak picture.
Some of these students also had to go through important stages of their education during the pandemic, gaining a very different experience from previous generations of students.
Students will have to think very creatively about their opportunities and where to look for them – with some data suggesting it might be worth it to look at Manchester or Bristol rather than London to find your first job.