The report said graduates earned 50% more than non-graduates

The Futureskills Scotland report found graduates earned about 50% more than those without degrees.

However, the report said that graduates in Scotland were more likely to be working in temporary jobs than those in the rest of the UK and non-graduates.

The study looked at how the labour market changed between 1993 and 2003.

It found that about 89% of graduates in Scotland were in employment, compared to an 84% employment rate for those with lesser qualifications.

Graduates in Scotland are also more likely to work in the public sector than their counterparts in the rest of Britain, according to the report.

This survey has shown that the position of graduates in the Scottish labour market has not deteriorated over time Barbara Graham Strathclyde University careers service

In 2001/03, the average annual graduate earnings were about �28,000, around 50% more than non-graduates.

The graduate wage premium in 2001/03 was similar to that of 1993/95.

Stephen Boyle, the director of Futureskills Scotland, said: "We have all heard claims that Scotland has too many people in the higher education system and that the value of a degree has fallen in recent years.

"When we compare the early 1990s and the early 2000s, it is clear that the substantial rise in the supply of graduates has been absorbed by an increase in the demand for graduates.

"Elsewhere in the UK, the graduate wage premium has begun to decline, however in Scotland the graduate wage has virtually remained unchanged from the early 1990s."

Barbara Graham, director of Strathclyde University's careers service, said the report was good news for graduate job-seekers and those contemplating studying for a degree in Scotland.

'Crippling loans'

"Sometimes recent graduates become discouraged when their careers do not take off immediately after graduation," she said.

"But this survey has shown that the position of graduates in the Scottish labour market has not deteriorated over time, even though so many people are now qualified to degree level."

Fiona Hyslop, the Scottish National Party education spokeswoman, said the report had hidden the problems faced by young graduates.

"What we must not do is pretend that this report shows that everything in the garden is rosy for Scottish graduates," she said.

"This is the generation being hit hardest by the crippling loans system, and this is the generation in temporary employment and not earning much more than their contemporaries without a degree."