Men tended to be in better-paid jobs

The Higher Education Statistics Agency, which interviewed 257,025 graduates from 2004, found 73.6% were employed, up from 72.7% the previous year.

Some 23.9% - down from 24.2% - were doing further study, while 5.9% - a fall from 6.2% - were unemployed.

The median average salary for female graduates was �17,000, while for men it was �18,000.

'Snapped up'

Some graduates were both in further study and had jobs.

Employment rates varied by subject. For medicine, dentistry and education graduates, it was above 80%.

Meanwhile, in law, more than 50% were still studying, while for maths and physical sciences it was more than 30%.

The highest unemployment rate, at 11%, was for computer science.

However, job opportunities are plentiful in the field of mining engineering, where each graduate can expect an average of seven job offers and a good starting salary, according to the University of Exeter in Cornwall.

Provost Professor Keith Atkinson said there were "jobs aplenty" for graduates.

"But we can't get the applicants," he said.

"Through our strong links with industry we know that graduates are snapped up.

Mining engineering graduates are in demand in the UK and abroad

"They are taking the pick of the jobs. There are jobs for them in the UK, but there is also a global shortfall of mining engineers so they are going to countries such as Australia," he added.

He said the perception was that it was a low-tech and dying industry.

"The reality is that mining graduates can go into a variety of areas - they can become metal or mining analysts in the city, or work in the oil industry, and graduates have worked on projects such as the Channel Tunnel and the Jubilee Line extension.

"Virtually everything you touch has been mined."

Gender difference

Among male graduates in the survey, 15,200 entered professional occupations and 13,905 went into technical jobs.

More women - 22,205 - took on technical jobs, with 18,000 joining professions.

The survey also found differences in salary by gender, with women more concentrated in low-paying jobs.

Of graduates earning above �40,000 a year, 140 were women and 455 were men.

However, for those earning less than �15,000, 12,800 were female and 7,190 were male.