Up to 40,000 of this year’s graduate leavers will struggle to find work, according to figures compiled by The Guardian.

The number of new graduates out of work will be double that of last year, if employment trends follow the same pattern of the last recession, career experts predict.

The scale of the recession’s impact on 2009’s graduates will be felt this summer, with a spike in unemployment figures predicted. This could raise the number of under-25s out of work to more than 1m.

According to another survey, Britain’s top universities were seeing a huge increase in students applying for postgraduate courses, and a boom in those putting off starting work and opting to go travelling.

Paul Farrer, chairman of media, sales and graduate recruiter pfj, says these figures seem far too low.

“There will be significantly more than 40,000 in my opinion. We’re seeing 75% fewer graduate jobs, compared to last year. SMEs are not taking on large numbers of graduates as they did in the past.

“With graduates going off travelling or taking on postgraduate degrees, we’re stockpiling a bigger problem for next year, which will be even worse.”