Less than half of UK companies are currently planning to recruit school leavers and graduates, according to new research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and professional services firm, KPMG.

More than 500 companies were questioned as part of the new Labour Market Outlook report, which has revealed that school leavers are set to be the worst affected this summer. Only 17 per cent of employers said that they were looking to recruit 16-year-olds, while a third are planning to take on 18-year-olds. The outlook for graduates is slightly more positive, however, even though less than half of companies are planning to recruit young people leaving university.

Gerwyn Davies, CIPD's public policy adviser, said: "Employers have, for a long time, had doubts about the employability skills of those leaving education, and this year's crop face employers in a more choosy mood than ever before. "Government work with employers on apprenticeships and graduate internships is welcome. But the onus is definitely on the job seekers themselves to get work experience, demonstrate a broad range of non-study related skills, and generally market themselves hard."

Ruth Elwood, head of recruitment at KMPG, added: "The recession is forcing young people to develop the age-old business skill of multi-tasking ahead of time - launching a systematic job search while still studying for their exams. "Young people need to take a pragmatic approach and take a position where they can get one, with the hope of building experience and moving into their first choice field later on."