Employers are putting "extensive and effective marketing" to work to hire more graduates from ethnic minorities, according to a report by the Association of Graduate Recruiters.

The AGR's 2008 Winter Review found the percentage of graduates from ethnic minorities increased from 15.1% in 2006 to 26.7% in 2007. The largest percentage, or 19.3%, was Indian.

The lowest percentage, or 5%, was Black Caribbean. However, the percentage of Black African graduates recruited nearly doubled, from 7.7% in 2006 to 13.7% in 2007.

"This has been a golden year, a breakthrough year," AGR chief executive Carl Gilleard told Recruiter.