The signs have really been there from the beginning, so this should really come as no surprise. Despite an influx of out of work students returning to school to receive various degrees in architecture, there have been questions over whether this is such a good idea, horribly gloomy reports from those inside university programs about future prospects, and even schools themselves telling students to scram for a year. And just a view of the industry itself these past couple of years doesn't paint a very rosy picture at all either. So when the Higher Education Career Services organization in the UK announces that a study has found that less than 50% of graduating architecture students are finding jobs, it isn't very revelatory. But it certainly doesn't make it any less unfortunate. Here's a bit:

Mike Hill, chief executive of HECSU, said: "We're now starting to see the extent of the impact the recession has had on graduate employment.

"Any signs of economic recovery may not be reflected in the destinations of new graduates until the 2010 graduating cohort. In fact it's likely that unemployment for 2009 graduates may be even higher than that reported here."