Western Australia may be the hot spot for industry, but work outcomes for Perth graduates are among the worst in the country according to the latest Good Universities Guide, released today.

The two-speed economy appears to have hit students hard, and Western Australian university leaders say the talk of a WA boom is uneven across sectors, with some industries essentially bypassed by the state’s overall economic outlook.

The 2012 edition of the guide lists Curtin, Edith Cowan and Murdoch among the seven universities which received a one-star rating; the lowest possible rating reflecting employment outcomes.

Murdoch senior deputy vice-chancellor Gary Martin said: “There has been a perception that full time employment opportunities in Western Australia have been abundant, but I don’t think these opportunities have existed in even quantities across all services and industries.”

He added that although there have been a significant number of new employment opportunities in Western Australia in the mining and minerals sector, other university courses do not appear to have presented the same number of opportunities.

Other universities in the lowest category were Southern Cross and Sunshine Coast universities, likely in the category due to the low employment opportunities in the university locations, which are better known for lifestyle options. Deakin and Newcastle universities were also in the category.

The one-star rating puts graduates from these seven universities in the bottom 20% in terms of the proportion of their students who have successful in gaining employment, or going on to postgraduate studies.

However, some university leaders have criticised the validity of the new ratings, as they said the data used for the newly released guide has incorporated statistics from graduates of 2008 and 2009. The Good Universities Guide website claims to be the “only comprehensive and independent information source about tertiary education pathways”.

Releasing accurate data about universities and their graduates' employment outlook remains a high stakes business. Earlier this month a New York City law firm filed actions against two American law schools, alleging that information relating to job outcomes of their graduates was so inaccurate it constituted fraud.

The law suit alleges the universities essentially robbed students of the ability to make accurate and informed decisions about where and what they chose to study.

The accused law schools deny the charges, yet the litigation has fuelled debate in the US as to whether enough is being done to regulate the circulation of accurate statistics, and whether there are too many universities in relation to the current job market.