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Graduates in their 20s are earning less in real terms than they were before the 2008 financial crash, and are £1,200 worse off than they were at the start of the pandemic on average, despite recent cuts to national insurance.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has teased further national insurance cuts in his upcoming budget, following on from the recent decrease announced in his autumn statement.

It could be welcome news to some who have seen their pay packets squeezed over recent years as a result of the cost of living crisis, though economists have warned tax cuts would be unaffordable and would need to be reversed after an election.

People aged between 22 and 29 are earning less in real terms now than they were in 2002.

This is when factoring in inflation, including rising housing and food costs, over the period.

In 2023 prices, the median salary for a graduate in their 20s is £23,990 after paying taxes and student loan – compared with £25,200 in 2020.

Helen Miller, deputy director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), said: “This comes in the context of an ongoing, multi-year freeze to personal tax thresholds.

“By 2027 (the last year of the planned freezes), an employee earning £35,000 will be paying about £440 a year more in direct tax overall as a result of all the changes to income tax and NICs since 2021.

“The government has announced significant tax rises. Regardless of what the chancellor announces in the budget, it is highly likely that this will be the largest tax-raising parliament on record.”

Changes to student loan plans

Student loan repayments are set at 9% of income above the salary threshold, which has been frozen at £27,295 since 2021/22.

Still, a recent graduate on an average income is currently paying around £13 a month towards their student loan, so is it really a big deal?

A big factor in the impact of student debt is not just how much people pay back per month, but how much they pay back over their working lives, and when they started university.

Those who went to university on ‘Plan 2’ higher university fees (£9,000 and above from 2012/13) will pay back almost £20,000 more than the previous ‘Plan 1’ cohort in their lifetime, according to estimates by the IFS.

Those who started in the 2023 academic year or later will be eligible for ‘Plan 5’ student loans, which have different repayment terms.

The threshold will increase in line with the Retail Prices Index (a measure of inflation) instead – meaning it will likely increase more slowly than under the previous policy and more graduates will start paying back their debt sooner.

Under the new system, student debt will only be written off after 40 years rather than 30, meaning many will make repayments for longer, potentially into their 60s.

This particularly affects low to middle earners, who are less likely to have paid off their debt after 30 years.

However, under this new system, no borrower will repay more than they borrowed (in real RPI terms) – so the highest earners can expect to repay significantly less than if they had started university in 2022 due to the lower interest rate.

On the other hand, people on lower incomes will end up paying back more.

‘A thundercloud waiting to burst’

Dr Farhana Ghaffar, researcher at the University of East Anglia, has been looking at the impact of the post-2012 loan system on students and young people and interviewed graduates who had been through this system to see how it had affected them.

“The idea was generally that a university degree would set you up for life, so it would set you up for a particular kind of life where you’d be able to have a home, start a family,” she said.

But in exchange for this, students are taking on “enormous” amounts of debt, which can have an emotional impact.

“I think sort of five or six years on, they were constantly worried about the debt that was getting bigger and bigger. And obviously they couldn’t do anything about it.

“They’re not at a stage yet where I think we can kind of talk too much about the long-term impacts. But something that was really striking is it was a future worry.

“You know, ‘when I get a mortgage’ or ‘when I start a family’. Someone described it almost as being like a thundercloud, waiting to burst and they just didn’t know when it would happen.”

Anastasia is a Romanian student at the University of Dundee. Her tuition fees are free because she started studying in Scotland while the UK was part of the EU.

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Sky News spoke to young people who say their future after university is looking ‘bleak’.

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English students still have to pay to study in Scotland but students from other EU countries could study for free, as Scottish students do.

Anastasia isn’t sure if she would have gone to university at all if she had to pay fees.

She said: “I’d have to take a few months to think about it. And really, really think about it. I don’t think it’s a decision I could make just like that.

“If there was a way of knowing the payments would be acceptable and manageable – even though I probably won’t have a good job right after I graduate – maybe I would do that but very low chances.

But Anastasia knows that decision too could affect her future prospects, saying “[we are] in a world where everybody expects you to have a diploma for anything”.

“There are so many companies out there that will not give you the job even though you’re fully able to give them a wonderful performance, if you don’t have a diploma.”


The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open-source information. Through multimedia storytelling, we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.

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Claire’s to appoint administrators for UK and Ireland business – putting thousands of jobs at risk

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Claire's to appoint administrators for UK and Ireland business - putting thousands of jobs at risk

Fashion accessories chain Claire’s is set to appoint administrators for its UK and Ireland business – putting around 2,150 jobs at risk.

The move will raise fears over the future of 306 stores, with 278 of those in the UK and 28 in Ireland.

Sky News’ City editor Mark Kleinman reported last week that the US-based Claire’s group had been struggling to find a buyer for its British high street operations.

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Prospective bidders for Claire’s British arm, including the Lakeland owner Hilco Capital, backed away from making offers in recent weeks as the scale of the chain’s challenges became clear, a senior insolvency practitioner said.

Claire’s has now filed a formal notice to administrators from advisory firm Interpath.

Administrators are set to seek a potential rescue deal for the chain, which has seen sales tumble in the face of recent weak consumer demand.

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Claire’s UK branches will remain open as usual and store staff will stay in their positions once administrators are appointed, the company said.

Will Wright, UK chief executive at Interpath, said: “Claire’s has long been a popular brand across the UK, known not only for its trend-led accessories but also as the go-to destination for ear piercing.

“Over the coming weeks, we will endeavour to continue to operate all stores as a going concern for as long as we can, while we assess options for the company.

“This includes exploring the possibility of a sale which would secure a future for this well-loved brand.”

The development comes after the Claire’s group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a court in Delaware last week.

It is the second time the group has declared bankruptcy, after first filing for the process in 2018.

Chris Cramer, chief executive of Claire’s, said: “This decision, while difficult, is part of our broader effort to protect the long-term value of Claire’s across all markets.

“In the UK, taking this step will allow us to continue to trade the business while we explore the best possible path forward. We are deeply grateful to our employees, partners and our customers during this challenging period.”

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Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Claire’s attraction has waned, with its high street stores failing to pull in the business they used to.

“While they may still be a beacon for younger girls, families aren’t heading out on so many shopping trips, with footfall in retail centres falling.

“The chain is now faced with stiff competition from TikTok and Insta shops, and by cheap accessories sold by fast fashion giants like Shein and Temu.”

Claire’s has been a fixture in British shopping centres and on high streets for decades, and is particularly popular among teenage shoppers.

Founded in 1961, it is reported to trade from 2,750 stores globally.

The company is owned by former creditors Elliott Management and Monarch Alternative Capital following a previous financial restructuring.

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Typical two-year mortgage deal at near three-year low – below 5% since mini-budget

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Typical two-year mortgage deal at near three-year low - below 5% since mini-budget

The average two-year mortgage rate has fallen below 5% for the first time since the Liz Truss mini-budget.

The interest rate charged on a typical two-year fixed mortgage deal is now 4.99%, according to financial information company Moneyfacts.

It means there are more expensive and also cheaper two-year mortgage products on the market, but the average has fallen to a near three-year low.

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Not since September 2022 has the average been at this level, before former prime minister Liz Truss announced her so-called mini-budget.

 

The programme of unfunded spending and tax cuts, done without the commentary of independent watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility, led to a steep rise in the cost of government borrowing and necessitated an intervention by monetary regulator the Bank of England to prevent a collapse of pension funds.

It was also a key reason mortgage costs rose as high as they did – up to 6% for a typical two-year deal in the weeks after the mini-budget.

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Why?

The mortgage borrowing rate dropped on Wednesday as the base interest rate – set by the Bank of England – was cut last week to 4%. The reduction made borrowing less expensive, as signs of a struggling economy were evident to the rate-setting central bankers and despite inflation forecast to rise further.

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Bank of England cuts interest rate

It’s that expectation of elevated price rises that has stopped mortgage rates from falling further. The Bank had raised interest rates and has kept them comparatively high as inflation is anticipated to rise faster due to poor harvests and increased employer costs, making goods more expensive.

The group behind the figures, Moneyfacts, said “While the cost of borrowing is still well above the rock-bottom rates of the years immediately preceding that fiscal event, this milestone shows lenders are competing more aggressively for business.”

In turn, mortgage providers are reluctant to offer cheaper products.

A further cut to the base interest rate is expected before the end of 2025, according to London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) data. Traders currently bet the rate will be brought to 3.75% in December.

This expectation can influence what rates lenders offer.

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Going to university is not what it once was – and students face a very different question

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Going to university is not what it once was - and students face a very different question

For around 700,000 teenagers on the treadmill that is the English education system, the A and T-level results that drop this week may be the most important step of all.

They matter because they open the door to higher education, and a crucial life decision based on an unwritten contract that has stood since the 1960s: the better the marks, the greater the choice of institution and course available to applicants, and in due course, the value of the degree at the end of it.

A quarter of a century after Tony Blair set a target of 50% of school-leavers going to university, however, the fundamentals of that deal have been transformed.

Today’s prospective undergraduates face rising costs of tuition and debt, new labour market dynamics, and the uncertainties of the looming AI revolution.

Together, they pose a different question: Is going to university still worth it?

Students at Plantsbrook School in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, look at their A-level results in 2024. File pic: PA
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Students at Plantsbrook School in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, look at their A-level results in 2024. File pic: PA

Huge financial costs

Of course, the value of the university experience and the degree that comes with it cannot be measured by finances alone, but the costs are unignorable.

For today’s students, the universal free tuition and student grants enjoyed by their parents’ generation have been replaced by annual fees that increase to £9,500 this year.

Living costs meanwhile will run to at least £61,000 over three years, according to new research.

Together, they will leave graduates saddled with average debts of £53,000, which, under new arrangements, they repay via a “graduate tax” of 9% on their earnings above £25,000 for up to 40 years.

A squeezed salary gap

As well as rising fees and costs of finance, graduates will enter a labour market in which the financial benefits of a degree are less immediately obvious.

Graduates do still enjoy a premium on starting salaries, but it may be shrinking thanks to advances in the minimum wage.

The Institute of Student Employers says the average graduate starting salary was £32,000 last year, though there is a wide variation depending on career.

File pic: PA
Image:
File pic: PA

With the minimum wage rising 6% to more than £26,000 this April, however, the gap to non-degree earners may have reduced.

A reduction in earning power may be compounded by the phenomenon of wage compression, which sees employers having less room to increase salaries across the pay scale because the lowest, compulsory minimum level has risen fast.

Taken over a career, however, the graduate premium remains unarguable.

Government data shows a median salary for all graduates aged 16-64 in 2024 of £42,000 and £47,000 for post-graduates, compared to £30,500 for non-graduates.

Graduates are also more likely to be in employment and in highly skilled jobs.

There is also little sign of buyer’s remorse.

A University of Bristol survey of more than 2,000 graduates this year found that, given a second chance, almost half would do the same course at the same institution.

And while a quarter would change course or university, only 3% said they would have skipped higher education.

Students receive their A-level results at Ark Globe Academy in London last year. File pic: PA
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Students receive their A-level results at Ark Globe Academy in London last year. File pic: PA

No surprise then that industry body Universities UK believes the answer to the question is an unequivocal “yes”, even if the future of graduate employment remains unclear.

“This is a decision every individual needs to take for themselves; it is not necessarily the right decision for everybody. More than half the 18-year-old population doesn’t progress to university,” says chief executive Vivienne Stern.

“But if you look at it from a purely statistical point of view, there is absolutely no question that the majority who go to university benefit not only in terms of earnings.”

‘Roll with the punches’

She is confident that graduates will continue to enjoy the benefits of an extended education even if the future of work is profoundly uncertain.

“I think now more than ever you need to have the resilience that you acquire from studying at degree level to roll with the punches.

“If the labour market changes under you, you might need to reinvent yourself several times during your career in order to be able to ride out changes that are difficult to predict. That resilience will hold its value.”

The greatest change is likely to come from AI, the emerging technology whose potential to eat entry-level white collar jobs may be fulfilled even faster than predicted.

The recruitment industry is already reporting a decline in graduate-level posts.

A maths exam in progress at Pittville High School, Cheltenham.
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A maths exam in progress at Pittville High School, Cheltenham.
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Anecdotally, companies are already banking cuts to legal, professional, and marketing spend because an AI can produce the basic output almost instantly, and for free.

That might suggest a premium returning to non-graduate jobs that remain beyond the bots. An AI might be able to pull together client research or write an ad, but as yet, it can’t change a washer or a catheter.

It does not, however, mean the degree is dead, or that university is worthless, though the sector will remain under scrutiny for the quality and type of courses that are offered.

The government is in the process of developing a new skills agenda with higher education at its heart, but second-guessing what the economy will require in a year, never mind 10, has seldom been harder.

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Universities will be crucial to producing the skilled workers the UK needs to thrive, from life sciences to technology, but reducing students to economic units optimised by “high value” courses ignores the unquantifiable social, personal, and professional benefits going to university can bring.

In a time when culture wars are played out on campus, it is also fashionable to dismiss attendance at all but the elite institutions on proven professional courses as a waste of time and money. (A personal recent favourite came from a columnist with an Oxford degree in PPE and a career as an economics lecturer.)

The reality of university today means that no student can afford to ignore a cost-benefit analysis of their decision, but there is far more to the experience than the job you end up with. Even AI agrees.

Ask ChatGPT if university is still worth it, and it will tell you: “That depends on what you mean by worth – financially, personally, professionally – because each angle tells a different story.”

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