One statistic that has been rising is the number of graduates not available for work or further study. In 1989 this was 1.2 per cent, but the latest figures show it has risen to almost 4 per cent.

According to sources, much of this figure is made up of graduates who are travelling or planning to travel abroad shortly. These trips, while they may involve a short period working, are mainly about leisure and that traditional student pursuit of "finding oneself".

The HEA will release its full report for 1999 in a few months and we will get a better idea about what areas are performing strongly for graduates. Looking at the report for 1998, most faculties were reporting roughly similar results for students getting jobs - about 75 to 85 per cent.

It also showed graduates in some areas were more likely to go abroad once they finished college. Over 31 per cent of those in medicine, dentistry and pharmacy went overseas, although this has been falling recently.

Because not all legal systems are the same, the chances for law graduates to travel abroad appeared more limited, with 12.3 per cent going overseas, compared to 17 per cent in arts and social science.

In relation to unemployment levels, it was surprising to find 5.2 per cent of graduates from food and technology courses "seeking employment."

This is up sharply on previous years and may indicate that colleges rushed ahead - in terms of the number of courses they provided - of what the market could bear.

But with food science and technology generally continuing to grow, we can expect this to come further into line in the next few years.