The graduate recruitment market is showing signs of slowing, leading to increased competition among graduates, according to Deloitte, which has seen a 22 per cent jump in applications for its programme.

The so-called “Big Four” professional services firm is one of the UK’s largest private-sector graduate employers, taking more than 1,400 graduates and undergraduates each year in the UK. In previous years, it has normally received about 10 applications for every vacancy.