This year’s flood of graduates will have significantly more positions to choose from than last year’s university leavers, which has helped lift the number of total available vacancies to a new post-recession record, according to the latest UK Job Market Report from Adzuna.co.uk.

There were 15,825 graduate-specific advertised vacancies in May 2015, up 16.3% on the 13,610 available a year ago.

This has contributed to the simultaneous rise in the total number of advertised positions across the UK. Last month saw 1,058,425 available advertised positions, 2.4% above the 1,033,435 recorded in April and 29.3% above the 818,471 recorded in May 2014.

However, the boom in entry level roles, combined with more lower-paid and part-time positions, also helped push down advertised salaries to a ten-month low. May saw advertised salaries fall 0.8% month-on-month to £34,002, following on from dips of 0.7% in April and 0.3% in March in the third consecutive month of average advertised salary reductions. Compared to the average of £34,549 six months before, May’s advertised salaries were 1.6% lower on average.

In a significant post-recession shift, workers may currently be better off staying in their positions and negotiating a pay-rise, rather than switching companies. While Adzuna data on advertised salaries is showing stagnation, the most recent ONS Labour Market Statistics report increasing wage packets – suggesting that companies are spending more on their existing employees and less on attracting experienced workers.

Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, commented: “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.” 

Despite a growing number of vacancies, competition for jobs will still be serious for the 350,000+ graduates about to enter the world of work. 

As of May, there are 3.98 graduate applicants for every entry-level position, meaning competition for jobs is 9.2% lower than last year. Compared to a new post-recession low of just 0.72 UK jobseekers per vacancy, it’s over five times harder for graduates to get a foot on the first rung of the employment ladder than it is for the average UK employee to find a new job once in the world of work. 

Over half of all newly-created entry-level openings were in London and the South East. Even in the face of this wave of new opportunities, competition is still fiercest in these areas – there are more than 35 applicants for every graduate position in these high-growth, high-salary regions. 

However, as employers compete for the best young talent, graduate salaries are strengthening. The average advertised salary for a graduate position was £25,129 in May 2015, down 0.9% from the £25,369 advertised in April, but 2.8% higher than the £24,439 average recorded in May last year.