Image copyright Thinkstock Image caption Graduate unemployment is falling, suggests a survey of more than 80,000 people who left university in 2011

More UK graduates are in work than at any time since the recession, new figures suggest.

Researchers asked almost 82,000 people who graduated in 2011 about their occupations in November 2014.

Almost 88% were working, with fewer unemployed or in further study, according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) report.

Universities and science minister Jo Johnson described the figures as "a further welcome sign".

HESA has carried out the longitudinal survey of graduates every two years since 2006 - when graduates who finished in 2003 were questioned.

The last time that graduate unemployment was this low was in 2008, among graduates who left university in 2005, according to the figures.

Graduate prospects were worst in the 2010 survey when only 86.4% of were in work, three years after leaving university in 2007.

A total of 3.5% of this group were unemployed.

Survey date Degree finished In Work Further Study Unemployed Other 2014 2011 87.9% 6% 2.6% 3.5% 2012 2009 87.1% 6.7% 3.2% 3.0% 2010 2007 86.4% 6.5% 3.5% 3.6% 2008 2005 89.7% 5.5% 2.6% 2.2% 2006 2003 89.3% 4.9% 2.3% 3.4%

In November 2014 the median salary of those graduates in full-time work in the UK was £26,000 and of those in employment, 80.5% were in professional jobs.

More than three-quarters (76%) of the graduates said their course had prepared them well for their career and two-thirds (66%) said it had been good value for money - but this group were at university before fees trebled to £9,000 a year in 2012.

Mr Johnson said the government aimed to "ensure everyone has the opportunity to work hard and secure a better future".

He added: "These latest statistics are a further welcome sign that so many graduates enjoy high levels of employment, but there is more to do to ensure students get the teaching they deserve and employers get the skills they need."

Prof Les Ebdon, director of Fair Access to Higher Education, said the results highlighted why it was so important for people from disadvantaged backgrounds to have the opportunity of higher education "and accrue the life-changing benefits it can bring".

But Prof Ebdon added that despite "significant progress", students from disadvantaged backgrounds were two-and-a-half times less likely to enter higher education than those from the most advantaged backgrounds.

"This ratio jumps at highly selective universities with the most disadvantaged nearly seven times less likely to enter these institutions.

"It is crucial that closing these gaps remains a priority," he said.