Pharmacy graduates have no choice but to accept low-paid locum shifts as they struggle to find permanent employment, the British Pharmaceutical Students' Association (BPSA) has reported.

Recent graduates were "working weekends for weekday rates" as the workforce outstripped the number of permanent jobs available, said BPSA president Vikesh Kakad.

Mr Kakad added that recent graduates were accepting a low weekend locum rate of £22 an hour because for those who were desperate for work the pay did not seem too bad. "But if you look at the bigger picture, the value of the profession is kind of hanging," he added.

Graduates were accepting a weekend rate of £22 an hour because they were so desperate for work, the BPSA said	More on pharmacy students Registration exam pass rate hits record low Limiting student numbers branded 'anti-competitive' BPSA alarmed at potential scrapping of UCAS points
	"My [pre-reg] employer told us from the beginning that they only had places for five of the 50 pre-regs, so there was a one in 10 chance of getting a job – it's a tough market," he told C+D. "So locuming is the only direction available at the moment."

Mr Kakad's comments came as the BPSA and the Pharmacy Schools Council warned last week that students could be left "stranded" and "unable to complete their education" without managed supply and demand of pharmacists.

The C+D Salary Survey 2012 revealed last month that the average locum rate had dropped for two years running to £22.79 an hour. And the outlook was likely to get worse, warned Numark director of professional services Mimi Lau, as the number of graduates continued to rise but pharmacy openings ground to a halt.

C+D readers posting on the website echoed the fears. "The oversupply from pharmacy schools and the immigration of pharmacists from Europe will ultimately result in mass unemployment among pharmacists," argued locum pharmacist Keith Morris, while another locum said the trend would lead to "paltry rates" in the market.