In 2023, around 83.5% of recent graduates in the European Union aged 20–34 who were no longer in education had secured employment, according to Eurostat’s Labour Force Survey. This marks a modest improvement on 2022’s 82.4%.
Among those holding a tertiary qualification, the employment rate stood at 87.7%, compared with 78.1% for individuals with medium-level education – a gap of nearly 10 percentage points.Yet these figures leave a sobering reality: 16.5% of recent graduates remain unemployed. The disparity across member states is striking.
Malta leads with a 95.8% employment rate, while Italy lags behind at just 67.5%. The Netherlands (93.2%) and Germany (91.5%) are among the best performers, whereas Greece (72.3%) and Romania (74.8%) sit near the bottom.
Eurostat data show that the EU-wide unemployment rate for those aged 15–74 was 5.9% in 2024, the lowest since 2015.
“Malta leads with a 95.8% employment rate, while Italy lags behind at just 67.5%”
Educational attainment strongly influences job prospects: those with high education enjoy an employment rate of 86.5%, far above the 58.7% recorded for low-qualified workers.
While a degree still improves employability, the notion of guaranteed work is increasingly outdated. Structural issues – skills mismatches, regional disparities and sluggish job creation in some sectors – continue to hamper graduates.
This challenge has been echoed in a recent Euronews report on graduate unemployment patterns across Europe, also based on Eurostat data.
Country Employment Rate (%)
- Malta: 95.8
- Netherlands: 93.2
- Germany: 91.5
- Sweden: 90.4
- Ireland: 90.1
- Italy: 67.5
- Greece: 72.3
- Romania: 74.8
- Spain: 75.5
- Croatia: 76.2
