Malta ranked first among EU member states for its graduates’ ability to find employment within the first three years after finishing their studies.

The European Union labour force survey (LFS) data indicates that Malta ranked first, at 95.8 per cent for its employment rate for recent graduates in 2023, significantly ahead of the EU average of 83.5 per cent.

Malta was followed by the Netherlands (93.2 per cent) and Germany (91.5 per cent) while the lowest rates were registered in Italy (67.5 per cent), Greece (72.3 per cent) and Romania (74.8 per cent).

Furthermore, data shows that the level of educational attainment plays an important role in graduates finding employment.

Graduates with a tertiary education recorded the highest employment rates and faced less risk of unemployment than peers who entered the workforce with lower levels of education.

Tertiary education ranges from diplomas to bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degrees.

One of the EU’s employment goals is to increase the employment rates for recent graduates of medium vocational education to 82 per cent by 2025.

In general, this rate stood at 81 per cent in 2023, the majority of whom were men.

Despite this, Malta also performed well within this objective as it is one of the 10 EU Member States that have already reached the objective.

Aside from Malta whose rate stood at 95.6 per cent, these countries are Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, Sweden, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary and Slovenia.

In addition, in Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria and Malta the goal was also met for men and women separately.

The country with the lowest rate was, again, Italy (62.2 per cent), followed by Spain (65.8 per cent), Romania (66.2 per cent) and Greece (67.4 per cent).

About the survey

The employment rate featured in the survey is obtained by dividing the number of persons in employment of a particular age group by the total population of the same age group.

The indicator for recent graduates is calculated for those aged between 20 and 34 and is aimed specifically at individuals who have successfully completed their highest level of education one to three years earlier.

The survey notes that the term ‘graduate’ refers to any person who has completed education and training with at least upper secondary or post-secondary education.

It excludes those who continue to follow their studies while working (part-time job) and those who are working full-time but are simultaneously engaged in education and training (apprenticeship).

It should be noted that the study does not detail which sectors these graduates are employed in and if they are related to the field of studies completed by the graduates.