New Eurostat data for 2025 place Greece at the bottom of the European Union ranking for the employment of recent graduates, highlighting a growing disconnect between higher education and the labour market. Among young people aged 20 to 34 who completed their studies within the previous three years, only 62.4% were employed, compared with an EU average of 83%.
The latest figures are alarming not only because Greece remains at the bottom of the EU, but also because the situation has worsened significantly within a year. In 2024, the employment rate for recent graduates stood at 72.7%—the lowest in the bloc, yet more than 10 percentage points higher than the 62.4% recorded in 2025.
The decline appears counterintuitive at a time when unemployment is falling and overall employment is expanding. A possible explanation lies in the nature of recent job creation. Employment growth has been driven largely by older workers, including retirees returning to the labour market, increased female participation, and demand in tourism and hospitality. These sectors tend to offer seasonal or low-paid positions that rely on labour rather than specialised knowledge, making them more attractive to students, secondary-school graduates and migrant workers than to university graduates seeking long-term career prospects.
The problem may also reflect a deeper structural weakness: the shortage of high-quality opportunities for highly skilled young professionals. Studies by the Centre of Planning and Economic Research (KEPE) have highlighted a continuing outflow of workers in their most productive years, particularly those aged 30 to 40. Population ageing and the persistence of brain drain have further reduced the pool of qualified talent available to the domestic economy.
While Greece struggles, the broader European trend is moving in the opposite direction. Across the EU, the employment rate of recent graduates rose to 83% in 2025 from 82.3% a year earlier, continuing a steady upward trajectory. Greece now trails the European average by more than 20 percentage points and remains well behind leading performers such as Malta, Germany and the Netherlands.
The data also reveal an unusual gender pattern. Unlike the EU as a whole, where male graduates enjoy higher employment rates, women in Greece fare better, with 68.6% employed compared with 56.8% of men. Greater representation in professions such as education and nursing, together with the delayed labour-market entry caused by compulsory military service for men, may partly explain the gap. Even so, female graduates in Greece still rank among the least likely in Europe to secure employment, underscoring the country’s ongoing difficulty in retaining and utilising its educated workforce.
