ëUnder-employmentí hits UK graduates hard

Under-employment ñ doing a job for which you are over-qualified ñ can lead to poor health and low levels of motivation in recent graduates.

This is the finding of a study conducted by Professor Tony Cassidy from the University of Ulster and Liz Wright from De Montfort University, presented at the British Psychological Societyís Annual Conference held in Dublin, Ireland, yesterday Friday 4 April 2008.

The prevalence of unemployment and under-employment in 248 recently graduated students was examined over a 18 ñ 24 month period. During this period, changes in psychological and physical health and achievement motivation were measured.

Twenty per cent of the sample were unemployed 9 months after graduating and almost 50% of those employed were found to be ìunder-employedî in that they were doing jobs for which they were over-qualified - for example working at a fast-food outlet or driving a cab. Both unemployment and underemployment were found to have negative effects on health and on motivation to achieve.



Government has set a 2010 deadline for 50% of all 18 to 30-year-olds to participate in higher education.

Professor Cassidy said: ìConsiderable resources are invested to encourage students into higher education in order to enhance employability of the UK workforce. These resources may be wasted if graduates are unemployed or underemployed and lose the achievement motivation to pursue the careers to which they aspire. The findings of this study highlight a need for Government to review policies designed to widen access to undergraduate programmes, or to consider how the increased career aspirations of graduates may be met. î.