Graduates in the North West earn at least a third more than those who didn’t attend university, new figures reveal

University graduates in the North West earn at least a third more than those who didn’t go into higher education, according to new figures.

The data also showed that the higher salaries benefited local communities and that regions with more graduates were more productive.

The evidence comes from the latest government Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO), analysed by Universities UK and presented in a report, ‘Graduate Outcomes Across Regions and Industries’.

In the report Universities UK says: “There is a risk that an unevidenced focus on there being ‘too many graduates’ will impact on the real benefits that higher education can deliver to the economy and individuals.”

The data shows:

• By age 31, graduates from the North West earn 36 per cent more than non-graduates from the same region
• This money benefits graduates’ wider communities, and the country as a whole. Graduate skills are estimated to have an economic impact of £95 billion nationwide in 2021-22 and £9.85 billion in the North West alone
• Regions with more graduates are more productive, driving economic growth
• The industries of the future (that the government has set out as driving growth over the next decade) are heavily dependent on graduate skills. These include the creative sector (76 per cent), professional and business services (74 per cent) and life science sector (73 per cent)
• Graduate earnings surpass all employee earnings in more than 95 per cent of industries across the regions

The report has been welcomed by Professor George E Holmes DL, President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Bolton, Greater Manchester.

Professor Holmes said: “This data confirms what we in HE have been saying for years, that a degree allows graduates across the whole of the UK to have more earning power.

“University graduates are driving growth for the country, and will be the backbone of those areas the government have set out as delivering growth and opportunity to local economies.

“In Bolton, we are due to welcome our first cohort of medical students to our School of Medicine next September. The Institute of Medical Sciences building is a state-of-the-art £40m investment by this University, with support from the Levelling Up Fund to train the next generation of doctors and health professionals.

“We are acutely aware that the best training, combined with immersive learning in practice, is key to helping to address the nationwide workforce crisis in the NHS.”

Professor Dame Sally Mapstone FRSE, President of Universities UK, said: “Those of us who work in universities witness the transformative power of higher education every day, and it is compelling to see this borne out so strongly in this analysis.

“But this data shows something new, universities are anchors for growth right across the UK.

“As well as contributing to their local area through the money they spend while studying, graduates go on to meet the needs of local industries and to earn more.

“This new analysis gives a clear message to government, local and mayoral authorities that thriving universities are central to the prospects for individuals and communities.”