Graduates remain keen to enter the public sector despite impending cuts, according to research from The Guardian.

The research found public service and not-for-profit recruiters ranked high in the chart, with the NHS, Teach First, Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Civil Service, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Amnesty International all claiming spots in the top 20.

The survey also shows an upsurge in the popularity of technical firms. Dyson moved up from 242nd to the top 30, while IBM, Shell and Google also rose up the list.

Meanwhile some professional service organisations in traditional graduate-friendly sectors such as investment banking and management consulting have proven less popular this year, though PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young and Deloitte are still in the top five.

Steve James, editor of The Guardian UK 300 and guardianuk300.com, says: “It may be surprising that public sector employers are still popular, given the news about government spending cuts but the survey shows that the Civil Service Fast Stream and the Foreign Office are huge, enduring employer brands, attractive to graduate jobseekers.”