Employers are insisting that students meet strict recruitment conditions this year after being overwhelmed by applications for a declining number of jobs, new research suggests.

Almost eight in ten employers (77.5 per cent) are now asking for at least a 2:1 degree as a minimum requirement, according to the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) bi-annual survey. This is up from 66.7 per cent last year.

The numbers demanding applicants have relevant work experience doubled - with 33.5 per cent requesting it this year compared with 15.2 per cent in 2009, it said. Some 6.8 per cent of employers are asking for graduates from specific universities, up from 2.5 per cent last year while almost two-thirds of employers (62.8 per cent) are now asking that applicants demonstrate certain competencies.

It comes as employers warn the number of graduate vacancies fell by almost 7 per cent this year - leaving students facing a desperate battle to find employment.

The findings show that employers are predicting a 6.9 per cent decrease in graduate vacancies during 2010 - four times the proportion they initially forecast around six months ago. It means that there are now on average almost 69 graduates fighting for every job - up from an average of nearly 49 applications per vacancy last year.

The report suggests this is due not only to a fall in jobs available, but because students from the past two years who failed to find work the year they graduated are also competing for this year's vacancies.

The study did find that some sectors are performing better than others - with banking and financial services, insurance, consulting and business services, construction, and accountancy predicting they will have more vacancies this year.

But investment banking, the public sector, law, engineering, retail, telecommunications and IT and large consumer firms are all predicting decreases, the survey found.