The impact of the crisis on the higher education sector and its link with the labor market is evident, according to a survey released on Wednesday by the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE).
According to the data, 36% of tertiary education graduates from 2011 onwards are unemployed. At the same time, compared with graduates from previous years, the percentage of temporary or part-time work has increased, with 57% of workers with a degree after 2011 receiving a monthly salary between 400 and 800 euros.
Overall, Greece has the lowest employment rate of tertiary graduate workers in the European Union, with the EU-28 average approaching 80% compared to Greece’s 65% (2016 data).
In 2016, people with post-secondary education or a high school diploma had the highest rate of unemployment, while those with a university or technological education saw an 11% rise, from 7% in 2009 to 18% in 2016. The data also revealed that most graduates found employment in the services sector, with the Education industry absorbing the highest percentage (20.7% in 2016), a quarter of whom had graduated from university. Public administration and Defence came second accounting for a total of 13.4% of tertiary education graduates. These percentages differ from the European Union average, accounting for 16% in Education and 9% in Public Administration-Defense.