Malta ranked 4th best for graduate employment in Europe

Malta has been ranked the fourth best European country to work in for graduates in 2022, with 89 per cent of recent graduates being in employment.

However, this is a three per cent decrease from the rate in 2020.

Malta’s result comes against a backdrop of historically low unemployment, with many businesses’ primary concern being the difficulties they have in finding staff.

Th staffing crisis has affected every sector of the economy, from restaurants to banks.

The figures on graduate employment emerge from a study of Eurostat and Gov.uk data by the London-based commercial real estate agency Savoy Stewart.

It found that the Netherlands currently has the highest graduate employment rate in Europe, at 93.1 per cent. This is a 3.8 per cent increase from 2020, where they positioned fourth among all European countries reviewed.

Savoy Stewart noted that, as Europe’s logistic hub, the Netherlands offers plenty of graduate job opportunities in sectors such as manufacturing, logistics, and agriculture. Home to many widely known international companies, it is also an attractive place for international students who are seeking jobs in Europe.

Ranking second is Germany with an employment rate of 91.3 per cent for recent graduates. The figure increased by 1.7 per cent and showed a positive post-COVID employment recovery in the country.

“Known for being the biggest automotive market in Europe, it is not surprising to see that the most popular industries for graduates’ jobs include vehicle manufacturing, along with machinery, and electronics,” said Savoy Stewart.

Norway came third with a 91 per cent recent employment rate for graduates, 1.3 per cent higher than in 2020, with a recent survey showing that the unemployment rate among recent master’s degree graduates dropped to the lowest since 2013. Industries such as healthcare, energy, tourism, and IT are all popular among graduates.

At the other end is Italy, with graduate employment at 57.9 per cent, the lowest among all European countries reviewed. Despite a big improvement (5.2 per cent) in the graduate employment rate from 2020, Greece ranked as the second worst country for graduates. Battling economic issues, Serbia and Romania follow with 65.1 per cent and 70.1 per cent, respectively. With a graduate employment rate of 72.8 per cent, Spain is the fifth worst country for graduate jobs.