I read this week that graduate job opportunities are set to increase in 2010 as the UK battles through the recession is no different to what has traditionally happened in similar circumstances in the past, it has been suggested.

A recent High Fliers Research report revealed that graduate job prospects are set to improve across a range of industries this year, with investment banks and law firms among those looking to recruit.

Mike Hill, chief executive of Graduate Prospects, has stated that recessions that have taken place in prior decades have tended to cause a rise in the number of graduate jobs on the market.

He said: "Historically, if you look at the recessions of the early '80s and the early '90s and indeed after the mini recession we had after the Twin Towers and the dotcom crash in 2002, traditionally the first group of employees to come out of the recession and to be hired is the graduate population."

However, he added that he was unsure if graduate job prospects would continue to improve, with a reduction in public sector positions potentially offsetting some growth in the private sphere.

Other finding from the High Fliers Research study was that a number of graduate job opportunities for 2010 may have already been secured by university leavers from last year which we have certainly not seen.