A study by High Fliers Research predicts that employers will create 8.1 per cent more entry-level vacancies in 2015, building on an increase of 7.9 per cent in 2014.
This represents the third consecutive annual increase, after a sharp dip in the aftermath of global financial crisis in 2008.
The research – which examined 100 employers including Barclays,?Shell, the Civil Service, Rolls-Royce, Deloitte and Marks & Spencer – also revealed that starting salaries are set to hit a median of ?30,000 for the first time in 2015.
University leavers working in law firms and investment banks can expect starting salaries in excess of ?40,000.
This pay increase comes as the first undergraduate students to pay ?9,000 tuition fees get ready to leave higher education.
The study also shows a big increase in paid work placements and internships available for students and recent graduates.
More than four-fifths of recruiters now offer paid work-experience programmes to students and university leavers, with 13,049 placements available this year.
The research found that graduates with no work experience are unlikely to find employment, while a third of graduates who went on to work at a firm have already held a position there.
Two-thirds of recruiters offer paid placements during the summer holidays.
Martin Birchall, the managing director of High Fliers Research, said that graduates leaving university in 2015 can expect a “buoyant jobs market”.
He said: “It’s great news that students leaving university this summer who’ve paid higher tuition fees for their degrees will be emerging into the most buoyant graduate job market for over a decade, with a wider choice of graduate vacancies at the country’s most sought-after employers and better starting salaries.”
Universities minister Greg Clark said: “Confidence in the economy continues to grow, and this is reflected in the fact that Britain’s top companies will recruit more graduates this year than they have for a decade.
“This report will be warmly welcomed by the record number of students who started university this year and highlights how a degree remains one of the best routes into a rewarding career.”
