Policy Exchange report finds half of UK graduates earn below median wage five years after leaving university

Unbiased summary

A report by the right-leaning think tank Policy Exchange, analysing government data on approximately 300,000 students who graduated in 2017, found that half of graduates earn below the UK median full-time wage of £35,000 five years after leaving university. Eleven per cent earned less than £24,000, equivalent to the National Living Wage. Only 57 per cent of graduates were in full-time work 15 months after graduating. The report also noted grade inflation, with 30 per cent of students now receiving first-class degrees compared to 13 per cent two decades ago. Policy Exchange recommended reducing university places, freezing fees, scrapping real interest rates on loans, and capping top grades. Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott backed the report. The findings relate specifically to the bottom earners within certain cohorts, and outcomes vary significantly by subject.

Coverage by outlet

City AM centre-right

Angle Frames the report as evidence of a systemic higher education crisis driven by grade inflation and over-expansion, emphasising debt and poor career outcomes.

Bias City AM accurately reflects the Policy Exchange recommendations but prominently platforms the Conservative shadow education secretary without seeking counterbalancing voices from universities or graduate success stories. The headline's use of 'risk earning less than minimum wage' slightly overstates the finding, which refers to the bottom quarter of graduates in nearly half of courses, not graduates broadly. The piece also introduces anecdotal data from a jobs platform without contextualising its representativeness.

Debt-saddled grads ‘risk earning less than minimum wage’ five years after leaving uni

Daily Mail right

Angle Uses the report to argue university is broadly a 'waste of money' and a 'debt trap', while linking poor graduate outcomes to Labour's economic policies.

Bias The Mail conflates two separate statistics — half earning below median wage and 11 per cent earning below £24,000 — in a way that blurs the distinction and maximises alarm. The piece adds a politically motivated claim that 'high costs imposed by Labour' are worsening the jobs market, which is not part of the Policy Exchange report and introduces partisan editorial framing. It also omits any acknowledgement that median wages vary by region or that many graduates do achieve strong outcomes, presenting the findings as universally damning.

Is university a waste of money? HALF of graduates earn below the average wage five years after leaving amid warnings over 'debt trap degrees'

The Sun right

Angle Uses the report primarily as a hook to promote apprenticeships and technical education as superior alternatives to university.

Bias The Sun leads with an open letter from business leaders backing apprenticeships, making the Policy Exchange report secondary and instrumental to a pre-existing pro-apprenticeship narrative rather than reporting it on its own terms. The piece slightly misrepresents the data by stating 'some graduates earn less than the living wage' without specifying the 11 per cent figure or the subject-specific context. It also omits the report's specific policy recommendations entirely, reducing a detailed policy document to a simple anti-university message.

Bosses urge youngsters to swap uni for apprenticeships as graduates earn less than living wage five years on

GB News right

Angle Presents the report as a 'bombshell' exposé of systemic failure in higher education, amplifying Reform UK and Conservative political voices.

Bias GB News accurately reports the core statistics but uses loaded language such as 'bombshell' in the headline, which editorialises the significance of the findings beyond what the data alone warrants. The outlet gives prominent space to Suella Braverman's characterisation of the university system as 'rigged' and graduates being 'sold a lie', without any balancing perspective from universities, government, or economists who might contextualise the findings. No attempt is made to note that Policy Exchange is itself a right-leaning think tank, which is relevant context for assessing the report's framing.

Half of British graduates earn less than average wage five years after leaving university, bombshell report finds