This article seeks to provide theoretical insight into supply and demand factors within higher education and how these relate to each other and to graduate unemployment within the South African context. Research was undertaken primarily to determine the graduate unemployment rate at a higher education institution in South Africa and secondly to ascertain whether work-integrated learning (WIL) had an effect on graduate unemployment. Statistical analysis revealed that the graduate unemployment rate at a certain higher education institution in 2011 was 46% while WIL reduced graduate unemployment. The unemployment rate for students who had had no WIL was 63%, whereas the unemployment rate for those who had complete WIL in the course of their higher education training decreased to 26%. Findings supporting the mitigating influence of WIL are a potentially valuable contribution to policy and practice in higher education.