Advanced Search

19 Graduate Jobs Leeds

The 4th largest urban area in England, Leeds, located in the picturesque county of West Yorkshire has a bustling graduate jobs market thanks to its fast-growing and extremely diverse economy. Being among the largest settlements in the North of England, Leeds attracts a great number of employees who add to the native supply of workers in the city. Its history before the industrial revolution is relatively modest--the city only bloomed when weaving industry took primacy in the 18th and 19th centuries. Nowadays Leeds boasts the title of third largest legal and financial centre in the UK, being overtaken only by London and Edinburgh. Despite being a thoroughly modern city, Leeds' economy receives a significant production input from industry--though that is in line with general trends of labour division between services, farming, and industry in a modern capitalist country.
Leeds also takes 4th place in the UK for quality of life, according to one report. This assessment includes rental costs, salary levels, disposable income growth, cost of living, unemployment rates, and life satisfaction. Importantly for fresh graduates, especially if they read for their degrees in the South of England, rental costs are particularly low for a city this large, falling (on average) 58% lower than those in London. Indeed, general cost of living, excluding rent, is overall lower (ca. 24%) too. While Leeds' growth typically lags behind the south of UK, it is in line with growth trends in the area, with projected increase of 25% over the next 10 years. This means a lively and welcoming graduate jobs market for those entering the full-time workforce in 2021/2022 financial year. These strong growth projections also indicate favourable recovery conditions after the coronavirus pandemic, giving fresh graduates good employment and professional progression prospects in the short to mid term future.
Leeds' strong legal and financial orientation (38% of total output and 50% of the projected GVA growth) promises a good availability of graduate, well-paid jobs in these sectors, as well as ensuring a wide variety of companies and positions to choose from. Most major banks (HSBC, Lloyds, RBS, and Zurich Financial Services) have regional or national offices in Leeds. Graduates may also choose to work in one of many head offices of industry giants located in Leeds--Asda, Jet2, GHD, or Ginetta Cars, among others, provide fantastic positions with generous starting salaries.
As warranted by industrial tradition, Leeds is also a centre of manufacturing which generates some 10% of the city's total output (approx. £15bn pa). This sector boasts 1,800 companies which operate in the area and employ nearly 150,000 people. Graduates of engineering will likely find offers from Ginetta or Treves particularly attractive, while those with degrees relating to food chemistry and associated fields can hope for a position with Arla Foods, Northern Foods, Tetley, or Leeds Brewery.
Looking for graduate jobs may seem a dauting task, even if you know which industry or sector you wish to start your career in. For a wide array of options from top employers, look no further than jobsforgraduates.com. Use our intuitive search tool for finding your dream job, or search on a city-by-city basis, if location is of paramount importance to you. Why bother scouring the internet, when you next graduate position is here? Kickstart your career with jobsforgraduates.com.

Advertise all your graduate jobs for FREE!