Almost a third of workers in the United Kingdom are over-qualified for their current employment, says a survey.

Arts and humanities graduates are among those most likely to be over-qualified for their jobs, says a survey by the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics.

This could be because arts graduates are not studying courses which provide "the skills ... demanded by the labour market", said researchers.

The research also considered graduates who had taken non-graduate jobs as a 'foot on the ladder' - with the intention of working their way into more senior positions.

Even after six years, these graduates who had joined companies below the expected graduate entry level were still lagging behind in terms of promotion and salary.

While arts graduates might find themselves trapped in lower status, lower paid jobs, science and business graduates are finding their qualifications in greater demand among employers.

Graduates who have degrees with clearly-defined vocational links - such as engineering or management studies - are more likely to find jobs matching the expectations of their qualifications.

However, while a third of employees are over-qualified, the survey also found that a fifth of people are under-qualified for their current job descriptions.

The research follows the announcement last week by the Education Secretary David Blunkett of two-year vocational degrees, which will encourage more young people to stay in education.

The government's wants to widen access to higher education, with plans to create hundreds of thousands of new places.