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New data by the ONS has revealed that graduates have been adversely impacted by the pandemic, with the most recent unemployment rates for this group reaching 5.2 per cent. New statistics released by the Office for National Statistics have shown that the unemployment rate for graduates rose to over 5 per cent (5.2 per cent) in the final quarter of last year. This was higher than the general unemployment rate across the UK which reached 5.1 per cent in the three months leading up to December. Despite this, the research did show that graduates, on average, are less likely to experience unemployment than non-graduates. Over three-quarters (76 per cent) of people who are currently unemployed do not hold a degree. This has not prevented a rising number of unemployed graduates, however. The number of unemployed people who obtained a degree has tripled over this past year. Between Q1 of 2017 and Q3 of 2020, the average unemployment rate for this group was 3 per cent. However, after Q3 of 2020, this sharply increased, reaching a peak of 12 per cent. These figures, the ONS state, suggest that “recent graduates have been hardest hit by the pandemic in terms of unemployment”.