A job in the civil service is now the top choice of career for graduates, according to The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers survey of 15,000 students.

It ranked fourth last year but has now dislodged consultancy firm Accenture from the top spot.

The NHS also fared well, jumping 18 places into ninth position.

But the popularity of working for investment banks, with their lure of high salaries, has waned.

Martin Birchall, the director of High Fliers Research which carried out the survey for The Times, said: “The fact the table is headed by the civil service for the first time reflects the widespread concern among university leavers that career prospects for new graduates are far from certain in the private sector.”