Leaving university should be an exciting time for students.

Finally, all that hard work and commitment can finally pay off. Or it should do, only many of Britain’s graduates are still struggling to find employment.

The recession has, no doubt, contributed to the jobs drought prompting fierce competition for fewer roles.

Since completing his economics degree at Sheffield Business School, Daniel Mallinson has applied for 30 graduate schemes and is now coming to terms with the fact that he may have to settle for something unrelated to his degree to get his foot on the career ladder.

Daniel, who is currently working for a marquee company, says so many graduates are competing for the same positions. He says he is now looking for sales and marketing roles in London where vacancies appear more buoyant.

According to The Association of Graduate Recruiters, leading companies are predicting there will be a four per cent fall in the overall number of jobs available for new graduates this year compared to last.

However, the association’s annual summer survey found while some industries are taking on fewer staff, others are hiring more graduates.

University leavers hoping to work in consulting or business services may find it easier with a 36.3 per cent increase in the number of vacancies available in 2012/13 compared to 2011/12.

Energy, water and utility companies are seeing a 30.8 per cent increase in openings and IT and telecommunications firms are increasing their available jobs by 14.6 per cent.

The survey, which questioned 200 leading graduate employers, found the banking and financial services are closing their doors to new graduates with a 45 per cent drop in the number of vacancies available.

But a spokeswoman for the Yorkshire Building Society, one of Bradford’s largest employers, says when it comes to recruiting graduates, their door is always open.

She says the majority of their analytical roles, such as finance, treasury and risk, are filled by graduates and they have already noticed an increased demand in recent months with an average of 65 applications per role, although they have received more than 150 for some positions.

According to the report, firms are receiving, on average, 85.3 applications for every expected opening, up from 73 in the 2011/12 recruitment season.

The report found firms dealing with “fast-moving consumer goods” – low cost items such as toiletries and groceries – are the most in demand with these companies receiving 211 applications on average for every job.

Phil Barnfather, Morrisons head of talent development programmes, says: “This year we’ll be recruiting 120 graduates – a 60 per cent increase on last year’s intake – so we are bucking the trend. We’ve also introduced a new Retail Graduate Programme for 2013, where we aim to develop graduates to become our future store general managers.

“Our graduate programmes now span all areas of our business, so new recruits can work in manufacturing, logistics and trading to name just a few areas and, with nearly 5,000 more applications received year on year, demand is high.”

Positions at investment banks or fund managers and in retail are also sought after, with these industries receiving 135.3 and 130.2 applications on average respectively for each vacancy.

Stephen Isherwood, the new Association of Graduate Recruiters chief executive, says: “The story of the current graduate market is the story of the economy – stagnant in places with growth in some areas. Overall vacancies are slightly down (four per cent) on last year and there is no salary growth. However, we can take comfort in the fact that the graduate recruitment industry is still investing heavily in their graduate intakes.”

Craig Burton, owner of The Works recruitment agency in Bradford, believes graduates are more realistic about entering a tough jobs market. “In my 30 years in recruitment, I have never seen them (graduates) swan out of university and drift into a job. For the right job it is always tough.”

Craig says the jobs vacancy market is expected to be back to 2008 levels by 2014, but assures there are jobs out there – they currently have 238 engineering vacancies.

He says graduates have to “measure their expectations a bit more finely”. They also need to focus on transferable skills and attitude: “make sure they can turn up for work on time and look at the opportunities, be prepared to get out of their comfort zone and try something new,” advises Craig.

The T&A’s Foundation for Jobs campaign aims to give young people a more positive outlook by encouraging the creation of more jobs, apprenticeships, and internships, making access to employment opportunities easier for companies and job seekers.