Most students who graduated from University College Dublin last year have either found work or are pursuing further studies and training, according to the latest figures from the college's admissions service.
However, the last three years have seen an increase in the number of primary degree students pursuing postgraduate study and training. At 45 per cent, it is now almost equal to the number of students entering into employment, at 47 per cent.
This is particularly true of law students, where three-quarters of primary degree students are engaged in further study or training.
In a sign that pursuing further study adds significantly to the potential for increased earnings, the research also suggests that the quality of jobs secured by students with postgraduate degrees is higher than that of primary degree students.
But it indicates that graduate employment has not yet reached 2000 levels, when 54 per cent of primary degree graduates, and nearly 88 per cent of higher degree graduates, were in jobs.
Only 2.2 per cent of students graduating from last year's primary degree courses at UCD described themselves as "seeking employment". However, this figure is slightly increased at higher degree level (3.7 per cent) and postgraduate diploma level (2.4 per cent).
Among the key findings of the survey of some 4,000 graduates from 2003 (75 per cent of the total) are:
47 per cent of primary degree holders are in employment, compared with 46.4 per cent the year before. Some 45.1 per cent are in further study or training.
79.9 per cent of higher degree graduates are in employment, compared to 81.3 per cent the previous year. Some 9.9 per cent are in further study or training, while 3.7 per cent are seeking employment.
74.2 per cent of postgraduate diploma holders are in employment, compared with 77.6 per cent in 2002. Some 16.5 per cent are in further study or training, and 2.4 per cent are seeking employment.
The remainder of graduates are categorised as unavailable for employment or study, indicating that approximately 6 per cent are engaged in so-called "gap years".
No primary degree graduates in law or medicine were looking for work. By comparison, 4.8 per cent of primary degree engineering graduates were seeking employment.