A new study has revealed that this year's graduates will face a pay freeze when they start work.
The Association of Graduate Recruiters said the stalled wages would be combined with higher tuition fees to slam graduates with a two-pronged attack on their finances.
In 2010, average graduate salaries will remain at ??25,000 for the second consecutive year in what the study called 'an unprecedented' development. Graduates of 2009 and 2010 will also be the first to pay top-up tuition fees for all three years of their degrees.
Carl Gilleard, the association's chief executive, said: "This could not have come at a worse time for the current crop of graduates who are the first to enter the workplace with the daunting task of paying off three years of tuition fees ahead of them. Those with jobs in banking, finance and law will be somewhat cushioned from the impact but graduates starting out in the third and public sectors will really feel the pinch this year."
The warning came alongside research showing that graduate employers were predicting a 1.6% fall in vacancies this year - an improvement over the 8.9% of cuts made in 2009. The research was among more than 200 graduate employers who employed almost 20,000 graduates.
