Higher Education Leavers Statistics: UK, 2016/17 - Salary and location of leavers in employment

What are the salaries of HE leavers?

Figure 12 shows the salary band in which the highest percentage of UK domiciled leavers in full-time paid work in the UK fell into was £20,000 - £24,999. A higher proportion of males than females have salaries of £25,000 or more. This is also true amongst UK domiciled first degree leavers. Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) data published by the Department for Education (DfE) in March 2018 also show the existence of a gender pay gap among graduates, highlighting that at one, three, five and ten years after graduation, male earnings exceed female earnings. The LEO data is however currently unable to distinguish between those who work full-time and those who work part-time (source: DfE).

Figure 13 shows the median salaries of UK domiciled full-time first degree leavers who were employed in the UK, split by professional and non-professional occupations. Across all subjects studied by these leavers, those in professional employment have higher median salaries than those in non-professional employment. Excluding medicine & dentistry and veterinary science, who have too few leavers in non-professional employment to calculate median salaries, the largest difference between median salaries can be seen among leavers who studied engineering & technology, with those in professional employment earning a median salary of £26,500 compared with those in non-professional employment earning £17,000. The smallest difference is seen in mass communications & documentation, in which there is a £2,500 gap between leavers in professional and non-professional employment.

Figure 14 shows the average earnings of UK domiciled first degree leavers entering full-time paid work in the UK. In 2016/17, leavers from medicine and dentistry have the highest median salary, and leavers from creative arts and design and mass communications and documentation have the lowest median salary. The LEO data published by DfE in March 2018 also highlight medicine and dentistry and creative arts and design as being the subjects from which graduates have the highest and lowest earnings, but at one, three, five and ten years after graduation (source: DfE).

Figure 14 also highlights the difference between the salaries of males and females. In 2016/17 the median salary for UK domiciled first degree female leavers was £22,000 compared to £23,000 for males. This difference is shown further by the mean salary, £22,000 for females compared to £24,500 for males.

Where are HE leavers employed?

Figure 15 presents information on the movement of UK students from home to study and onto employment. It shows the number of leavers domiciled from a specified region, from an HE provider in that specified region, or employed in that region, and the flow of movements between that region and the rest of the UK. Figure 16 providers further detail on Figure 15, showing the specific regions that leavers move between.

The East of England had the lowest percentage of leavers employed in the UK who went into work in the same region to that of their domicile, at 54%. Of leavers domiciled from Scotland, 89% of those who went into UK employment, stayed in Scotland for work.

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• Summary
• Leaver activities and characteristics
• Outcomes by subject studied
• Salary and location of leavers in employment
• Notes