CIIAPTER 5. EDUCATION

5.9.3. Labour msrket datø sources

Graduale surveys
Information on the labour market is a particularly
important tool to help students choose a
programme and
they áre;;rñ.ñd
lle¡:1.{t*ion
for the rabour marker
(OECD' 2016uzoù' It can also help"niur.
govemments steerthe system to meet labourmarket
needs and assist institurions in ptannìig
their programÀ" ãrdri"é,
Graduate surveys are commonly used to provide

insights into the

success of graduates in
-rro*
the labour market, as well as to proviàe informattn
u¡oit
well graduates are
meeting the needs of emplqyqsis a result,
lruu" national graduate
-uny
surveys' In the participating jurisdictions,
"noni.Jrr
national þuouot.
,u.veys are conducted in
Estonia, the Netherralds gã Norway. Trrey
typicaili;;;k";"ärmarion from graduates

about their background, education, employment
and eamings situation. In addition, these
surveys solicit views on the graduates' saiisfaction
wiflr t¡eü.oiprrtra higher education
programmes and its relevance to the labour
market.

Institutions can design and cany out their own graduate
surveys. In some cases, graduate
surveys are linked to student s-urveys, and
even made ávailable to the scientific
community to study questions of general interest
,.*rri"g
vr¡vvrrv!¡r!ùr \rçç'
----Þ effectiveness
(see, for
ru
example, Ferd, Saramanca
""
and

zörit;eTlTttzsl)).

In Norway the graduafe survey (Kandidatundersøkelsen)

is conducted by the Nordic
Institute for studies in Innovatión, Research
an¿ g¿ucatioí Ñti"") The graduate survey
provides information on- employment
outcomes following g*ãìàtion,
quality ofjobs, the length olthe job search, graduates,;oñsãtisa.tion, and describes the
and the alignment
between graduates' skills and joï requirements.
The graduate survey also collects some
information about the co¡tent of programmes,
inJuding th. learning and teaching
process, and the graduates'assessment
of the knowl.¿g.
rîìrrc trr"y gained in higher
education' As in the Netherlands, some institutionr,
"tï¿ it Ë^uniu.rrify
nãtuuÇ
of oslo, the
university of Bergen and the
universiry of s;ie;;;na r..hr,;íogy
\grwegian
survey employers ol
well theii graduates perform in the labour market, ñ"ïü;
the skills
employers need' and loY
their views on Io* well ìeveloped these skills
are
among
their
graduates. These one-off surveys
of emproyer satiraciion iften focus on specific
programmes
and are not conducted systemaiicully u.ror.

trre syste..
After assessing the feasibility of a graduat.. .u*".y.
across Europe (Mühreck, 2lrírtzqt),
the European union is. deveioping a"graduate
tracking mechanism. This instrument will
provide qualitative and quantitative iiformation
on ,íhut higl"t'.¿*"ion graduates do
after they complete their education and training.
rrt. gruouui.?u.mng system will help

new students make informed choices about

whai to stuãy and rr.ifgou..n ent authorities
one of the tey airis of the new tracking
system is to motivate higher education institutiãns.to
¿e¡ witt fräouut" employability at
the institutional lever and improve programmes
and co-operatioriwitn employers.
steer their higher education systems. However,

Other sources
Graduate surveys are a useful tool to gather
information on what happens after higher
education and on the match between slãtt
supply and demand rronr tlr. point of view
of
graduates' To ensure a more comprehensive
understanding of the needs of the labour
market' many OECD countries coliect and
disseminæe .¡¡v¡¡¡¡sr¡vr
inrorÀation ttrrougr, a variety of
other measures

(OECD, 2016uzoù.

BENCHMARKING HIGHER EDUCATION
SYSTEM PERFORMANCE

@ OE CD2O1g

I zgt

CHAPTER 5. EDUCATION

2e6 |

by both a relatively high higher
(Denmark, Norway and Sweden) are characterised
teuet. or incóme inequality (oEcD, 2018p1)
education attainment level and by low
(OECD,2015ræt).
Figure5.20.RelativeearningsoTZÍ-34year-oldsoselectededucationleve|s(2016)
Averageeamingsoffull-time,full-year25-34year.oldworkerswithabachelor'sdegteecomparedtothose
'or post-secondary non'tertiary

;iñ a short--cycle, .".i"i:lü'iå.ä;ñ;ítil.*;

230

. All levels

o Mætefs or doctoral

x Short4ycle

r Bachelot's
250

iufþ.econdarv

o 333
o 310

210

o

190

170

o

a

o

o

o

ô

o

o

150

a

130

o

o

9O

o

o

oo

o
o

o

ooo

o
ô

o
o

o

o

110

90

exercise 201'112018'
Higher Education System Performance
Note: *participating in the tsenchmarking
countries with available
across
oìîocto.ut gr'r¿""rl,r is calculated
The average for bachelor,s
separately.
is
calculated
graduates
ør short-cycle
data for both series, while,rrJ.".r"æ
ninl*å' SPain' Year of reference 2015'
Belgium, Canada' cfrile, czeä nep"utii"'
to upper secondary
and *tä ririt.J st.tes: Index 100 refers
czech Republic, slovak Röi¡j,'l;t,ierland,
uJ pott-se.on¿ary non-tertiary levels of education'
Year ofrelerence 2014'
öiìfutl, ii¡v, Lithuania, the Netherlands:Turkey:
Earninss net of income tax'
Luxembourf Mexico' and

il^;;i;;';

i.i-ã, i*rå,

Source: Adapteci from .ECB äffi;,

,"¿;'íauio,t¡initot¡t¡ics, http://dx'doi'orei l0'

1787/edu-data-en'

statl-ink ÐËF htlps://doi orøl0 l78?/88893394 I

139

Theeamingsofworkerswithashort-cycledegreetendtobe^lowerthanforotherlevels
or postrh;t can be suústantiaily lower than for upper secondary (where
ofhigher education,
".d
as iell. For example' in Eslonia
secondary non-tertiary educated workers
ìt"tt u" no longer offered)' workers with a shon-[n
progrcmmes at tr't"
'r1J't-"]'iìäìt*låw *oii."tt with an upper secondary qualification'
uuJ#-ií"7"Ë'i#"
cycle degree
"u*
(where individúáls with short-cycle attainment
contrast, in Norway unâ if't" N.ttterlands
about 5o/o
or tn. *ortiorr"¡ their relative earnings arc
represent
^hì;il;.ih"tonly a ,,,'u¡-rr*ion
those of workers with a bachelor's degree'

BENCHMARKING HIGHER EDUCATION

SYSTEM PERFORMANCE @ OECD 2019

CHAPTER 5. EDUCATION

.statl-Dk ãÉÐ

In all countries, interpersonal skills appear more often on the profiles
of graduates with
more dynamic career trajectories. The proportion listing at
leasi one interpãrsonal skill is
slightly lower for graduates who had only ãne job in thã s y.urr
ut"r gradiation (57% on
average across countries), it is highest for graduates who
moved across industries for
work (64%o on average), and it is in between ihese two values for graduates
who changed
jobs but not industry (60% onaverage).

This association suggests that graduates, especially those moving
for work across
industries,- find interpersonal skills valuable to their professional
profile. This result
supports the efforts of many hlgheq educatiotr
in-stjtutions to foster ihe development of

studeni:s' interpersonál skill;.

5.9.2. Eørnings
Employment and unemployment rates are important measures

of success in the labour

market, but they only show whether highei education graduates

have succeeded in

obtaining a job. Earnings show, in part, whether graduates"ar.
Á.iti"g jobs that ..q"i..,
value and reward their advanced level of skills.

On average across OECD countries, 25-34 year-old fulltime

workers with a master,s
the same age with onty un upp..
secondary degree. Young full-time workers with a bachelor's
degree earn about 30%
more, and those with a short-cycle degree about 10% more
than rút-time workers with
only an upper secondary qualification (Figure 5.20).
degree eam about 60Yo more than full+ime workers of

chile, Mexico and the united States are the countries with the highest
eamings
premiums, both at the bachelor's and the master's level.
In these countries,25-34 yeírold full{ime workers with a master's degree earn about twice,
or more, as much as fulltime workers of the educatio¡ and sameãge wilh only an rpp".
r.condary qualification;
and those with a bachelor's degree, on"-anã-hulf timeÃ
as ruån,
- rno... workers with a
master's degree earn over 10olo more than those with an
upper Áecondary qualification in
all countries. workers with a bachelor,s degree eam more than those
*itr, un ufp"i
secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary qualification in
all countries except Norway.
The earnings premium is substantial in Belgium, Estonia
and the Netherlands, with young
master's graduates earning over one-third more than workers
of the same age with upper
secondary education or post-secondary non-tertiary education
in all three Jountries,'ánd
bachelor's graduates earning over l0lo more. In Nbrway,
bachelor,s graduates in tú
ù;
gtoup 25-34 earn a similar amo_unt as young people wiitr
a lower levél of education, bî

master's graduates earn about l5% more.

The difference in earnings
higher education graduates and people with upper
_between
secondary education could depend on thè ability ofhigh"er
education to provide graduates
with competences relevant to the labour markðL butãlso on the
match betwe"n ,upplv
and demand of graduates in the labour market, and on the jenerat
level of income
inequality in a particular country. The countries with the highei
earnings premiums for
young bachelor's graduates (chile, Mexico and rurkey)
.t -a"teiised both by a
relatively low share of adults_ with higher education
<íó* *pplv of higher educated
To.\:rr: which could push up their salary) and by a high'level oiinéquatity in the income
distribution (so that differences in eamiãgs u.ro., uni ,o.io-"*noÀic
group tend to be

i"

accentuated). The three countries with the lowést bachelor,s
BENCHMARKING HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM PERFORMANCE
O OECD 20I 9

"u*ing,

premium

I zgs

2e4 | CHAPTER 5. EDUCATION
workers" or the re latively stabl e
labour market 1n France with low stability for youl'ìg
However lt S not possl ble
Norwegian labour market (oECD 20 U 4l; OECD 2A 7 ll ù.
graduates depends o11 their owll
to know whether the level of job stability experienced by
choices or on the labour market in which they frnd themselves'

I

InÍerpersonal skills

set of skills' including
behavioural skills' Many higher
technical skills, but also creative thir,king, and sòcial and
learning)
(e.g.
education institutions have introduced ieacl,ing methods
-problern-based

Navigating the labour market successfully requires a diverse
aimed at better developi¡g such a diverse set of;kills

(Hoidn and Kärkkäinen,2014¡zz1)'

skills (together wìth industry
Interpersonal skills are one of a number of categories of
that Linkedln members
skills)
other
and
languages
f.nãr,if.Og., tools and technologies,
management, co-ntract
time
communication,
include
can add-on their profile. They
witli different
graduates
master's
for
shows,
5.d
negotiation, and many-ãih..r. Éigur.
skill o.nll't"i'
interpersonal
one
least
at
reporting
labour market trajectories, the pro[oftion
skills in
interpersonal
of
reporti'g
of
levðls
high
are
ii.,L.¿ln profile."Whil. ououtithäre
interpersonal skills reporled
the graduate cohofts, there are differences in tlie levels of
in perceived values of
differences
be
may
across countries, suggestirrg thar there
systems'
inr"rp..ronul skills Uligraduãtes from different higher education
Figure5.d.Percentageofmaster'sgraduatesreportingatleaston-e^interpersonalskillon
(2010-2013)
their Liikedln profile, by labour market trajectory
Linkedl'members reÞortine to,have eamed

2010 and 2013' who duri'g

*ili:,î'-'ìiï:';ì.1î1ï:"ïi:en

¡ 0nly one job
E More than one job, in the same ¡ndustry
tr ¡lore than one job, in different industries
/o

a More than one iob, in the same and in dlfferent industries

80

a
70

o

60

a
50

40
30

20
10

0

unìtedStates Australia

Canada Eslonia.

Average Netherlands. trance

Flemish GermanY

Norway*

Community-

system Performance exercise 2017/2018'
Nore: *Participating in the Benchmarking Higher Ed^ucation
óhu.t' Th" level of education has been derived
the
from
craduares without *"tk.;;;;j;;;;'urJ."Jrua.¿
with the mastet's level as defined in the
exactly
coincide
not
fi.om the patticipants' own iecording, and may
ISCED classifìcation'

Source:Linkedln aggregate data provided at OECD's request'

BENCI'IMARKINGHIGHEREDUCATIONSYSTEMPERFORMANCEoOECD20I9

C}TAPTER 5. EDUCATION

Box 5.10. Using Linkedln data to explore dynamic labour market transitions early in the
career of higher education graduates

Master's graduates go thnough a variety of training and professional experiences in the
five years after graduation (Figure 5.c). While many graduates opt for further education,
the data show that graduates also tend to go through a range of professional transitions
early in their careers. On average across countries with data, there are 2.5 education and
lg!9ur market experiences per graduate in the five years after graduation, but with large

differences across countries. For example, the number of additional educatiõn

experiences per graduate ranges from 0.2 in Estonia to 0.6 in France, while the number of
professional experiences per graduate ranges from 1.8 in Estonia to 2.7 inFrance.
Figure 5.c. The education and labour market experiences ofmaster's graduates (2010-2013)
Average number ofexperiences in the 5 years after graduation for Linkedln members reporting to have
eamed their first master's degree between 2010 and 2013, by type ofexperience
tr Job ¡n d¡fferent indushes from the main

job E Jobs in the same industry as the main job E Main job tr Internship r Education

Netherlands' Flemish

Average Canada Australia NoMåy- United States Estonìa*

2Ã

3

2.5

2

1.5

0,5

0
France

Commun¡ty-

Note: *Participating in the Benchmarking Higher Education System Performance exercise 201712018.
The level ofeducation has heen,derived from the participants own recording, and may not coincide exactly
with the master's level as defined in fhe ISCED classification.
Source:Linkedln aggregate data provided at OECD's request.

statltnk ètil

https;//doi. ors/l 0. I 78788893394 1 I 96

Figure 5.c makes a distinction between the job which graduates held for the longest time
after graduation ("main job") and other jobs either in the same industry as the main job,
or in another industry. On average, in the first five years after graduation, there *"rJ0.7
job changes per graduate within the same industry. The number of job changes per
gaduate into a different industry was even larger (0.8 on average). Further work could
examine the question of whether graduates tend to work in a different industry before
starting their main job (e.g. to gain work experience before moving to their prefened
industry) or afterwards.
These results suggest varying degrees ofjob stability across countries, consistent with the
different labour markets and institutional settings of different countries (e.g. the dual

BENCHMARKING HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM PERFORMANCE O OECD 20I 9

I zgt

2e2 | CHAPTER 5. EDUCATION
201s)
proportion ofemployed individuals younger than 35 with higher education reporting to be unable to choose
l)
or changa..the sequence oftasks" and'howto do the work" (upper secondary education =

'

o/o

90
80
70
bU

40

20
10

0

Þ".{9o*^t:r"d.{.ót"

.$$"\5::"i"e*

Note: *participating in the Benchmarking Higher Education System Performance exercise
Siu,cr, adaptåd foim OpCo (20161r0r1), )ECD Suney of Adutt Skílls, www.oecd.orq/skills/oiaacldata/.

201712018'

Statl-tnk ãæ

https://doi.Õr8/10.1787/888933941

177

Alternative sources of labour market information
New sources of data, including social and professional network data provide new
possibilities to follow gtaduates óver their transition in the labour market, and to analyse
iheir profiles and skills. Insights from new sources ofdata therefore have the potential to
feed into policy discussion aãd decisions. While not generally representative of the whole

population, thðse data benefit from high coverage, being based on the informatics records
iro- u..y íarge numbers of people. lt also offers a better picture of transitional dynamics,
as it follows individuals as long as they keep updating their records.

Data from Linkedln, a platform for professional networking with over 590 million
members worldwide, offer the potential to follow the pathways of graduates as they
transition from education to employment and explore the relationships between their
skills and qualifrcations and how ihey navigate the labour market' The OECD and
Linkedln jointly carried out an exploratory analysis of lhe transitions of first-time
5
master,s giaduat"r in the five years after graduation. In total, the transitions of around
higher
eight
from
2013
and
2010
million iintedtn members graduating between
education systems (Australia, Canada, Estonia' the Flemish Community' France, the
Netherlands, Norway and the United States) were analysed (Box 5'10)' The analysis
focuses on individual professional and educational trajectories, and on their relationship
*ith int.rp"rsonal skilis. This is particularly relevant to modern economies, as they are in
continuoui evolution, often requiring individuals to adapt to change and disruption by retraining and switching jobs (OECD, 2016¡rzol)

BENCHMARKING HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM PERFORMANCE @ OECD 2019

cHAPTER5. EDUCATToN I zgt

Ernployment rates also vary by type of higher education institution. In the Netherlands,
the average employment rate of 25-34 year-old bachelor's graduates masks large
differences between graduates of universities and professional HEls. Some 70% of Dutch
university graduates are employed, whereas the employment rate for professional HEI
graduates is over 90%. This is the same rate for professional HEI graduates in Flanders
(Table 5.14). The difference is largely due to the fact that professional HEI programmes
are generally designed to provide direct access to the labour market, whereas university
graduates usually continue their education with a master's programme after graduating.
The diflbrence in the employment rate in Estonia in 2015 was less pronounced for
bachelor's graduates of professional HEIs (83%) and universities (79%).
Table 5.14. Employment rates of25-34 year-old bachelor graduates, by subsector (2016)
Flemish Community

Estonia

Netherlands

Universities

79.3

m

Professional HEls

82,5

93.2

92.9

Note:T\e year of reference is 2013 for the Flemish Community, and 2015 for the Estonia. In the Flemish
Community, only a small percentage of university bachelor's graduates enter the labour market before
earning a master's degree.

Source: Adapted from information provided by the participating jurisdictions. See the reader's guide for
further information.

Employment, unemployment and inactivity rates are not the only measures of labour
market outcomes. Some graduates may be employed, but they rnay not find the
opportunities to deploy their skills effectively and maintain the level of skills and
competences acquired in higher education (Box 5.9). The skills earned with higher
education are important in the transition of graduates to the labour market, but even more
important is the extent to which these are utilised and enriched on the job (Tomlinson,

20l2rnel).

Box 5.9. Higher education graduates with routine jobs

The OECD Survey of Adult Skills identifies jobs in which u,orkers are unable to "change the
sequence oftasks" and "horv to do the work", which can be considered as a type of routine job
(OECD.20l5tnsl). In absolute terms, the share of u'orkers u'ith higher education who are younger
than 35 and are in jobs with routine tasks is just below 70o/o, camp&Íed to about 20o/o for rvorkers
u'ith upper secondary education, on average across OECD countries and economies. In all
participating jurisdictions, less than 5% of young higher education graduates are in routine jobs
(OECD calculation based on data from the Surve¡' of Adults Skills).
Figure 5.b shows the relative probability for young workers rvith higher education qualifications to
end up working routine jobs compared to u,orkers u,ith upper secondary education attainment. On
average across OECD countries, employed individuals younger than 35 with higher education are
less than half as likely to be employed in jobs u,ith routine tasks. In Estonia, Flanders. France.
Germany, the Netherlands, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia. they are less than one-third as
likely. At the other extreme, in Austria, Chile, Greece and Northern Ireland they are over 700lo as
likely as workers with upper secondary education.

Figure 5.b. Relative share of workers in jobs with routine tasks, higher education (2012 or

BENCHMARKING HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM PERFORMANCE O OECD 2019

zeo I

CHAPTER 5. EDUCATION

the five selected fields of study presented in Figure 5.19' In contrast,

the spread is 25

percentage points, or more, in Finland and Slovenia'

Figure 5.19. Employment rates of 25-34 year-old higher education
ofstudY (2017)

o/o

graduates, setected fields

xNaturalsciences,mathematcsandstâtistics oEngineering,manúaotufing&constructon
-Educalion aAftsandhumanities ¡Business,adminisÍationandlaá,

100

90

80

TI r lr t ll T tT

*Trïï" ï rl

70

60

ïrt

1ï1ï

50

.u-"o{.*^*nÑ.*'f

ti-,.-Y*'dJ""*"*"ì*.ì$rs

"So""\$.es "*ìS-...-'-)...ð" a."-oo

Performance exercise 201712018'

Nole: *Participating in the Benchmarking Higher Education System
rate of25-34 year-olds who graduated from a
Countries are ranked ln ¿.r."n¿ing otãä oit¡. employmeni
in the field of study of education'
programme
-Chiie,
United States: Year of reference 2015'
higher education degrees'
USAiDutu r"f.r to bachelor's degree field, even for those with additional
Statistics,http://dx'doi'orey'l0'1787/edu-data-en'
Education
OECD
Sr11),
i"rirl Àáapted from OECD tZõf

Statl-ink ffifl

httDs;//doi org/IO l?87/88893394 I I20

study of education-is
The employment rate for Estonian young graduates in the field of
other fields of study,
in
gradrytel
young
consideiabíy lower than the employment rate of
(Section 5'2'l)'
field
this
in
enrolment
Urtitt. government is nevertheiess incentivising

be partly due to the fact that, thile an overall oversupply of teachers
experienced for some
"oï¿
characterises the Estonian education system' shortages are

it i5'

p"rti.rf* positions (e.g. Estonian languagê.teachers in regions where Russian as a mother
iongrr. is prevalent; teãchers for students with special needs)

(OECD' 2016¡zoù'

high across-all fields of
In Flanders and the Netherlands, the employment rate is relatively
enrolment in the
.t"OV. ift" Netherlands has in píace some policy initiatives to encourage
ä.i¿, study of education and health und *élfut", and in fields_related to science and
"f *h*r, u potential shortage of workforce and skills has been identified 5'2'2'
technology,
large in Norway, but
Differences in the employment rate by field of study are not very
persist through-ouJ
may
and
market
labour
the
tó
they are apparent at itre transition
less likely to find
humanities
the
and
arts
from
graäuates' professional lives, with those
transition to the
the
has
slightly.hindered
Norway
in
jobs. The recent economic slowdown
sciences
natural
and
engineering
the
from
particularly
labour market ofrecent graduates,
resource
in
the
works
fields
these
from
graduate
fields of study. usually] every tenth
in oil
indïstries, *hi"h *.r" the most affected following the sudden decline

"*tru"ting
prices in 2013 (OECD, 2018¡r+1).

BENCHMARKING HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM PERFORMANCE O OECD

2OI9

cHAPTER5. EDUcArroN I zgg

Figure 5.18. Employment rates o125-34 year-old graduates, by education level (2017)
¡Bachelo/sorequivâlent -Uppersecondary/postsecondarynontertiary

oshort-cycle

tert¡ary xMaste/sorequivalent

100

õ

95

X
90
85

ð

X¡

ô

x

x

ô¡ tðrr*

80

X

ð

xxXo _3i -x

x
X

X

70

x

x

65
60

50

"$$i.S--k--Wæ\-$"\.5*t*'::*'-"ì:$.\:

s

Note: *Participating in the Benchmarking Higher Education System Performance exercise 201712018.
The average for bachelor's, master's and upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary graduates is
calculated across countries with available data for all three series, while the average for short-cycle graduates
is calculated separately.
Chile: Year ofreference 2015.
Japan: Data for higher education include upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary programmes (less
than 5% ofthe adults are under this group).
United Kingdom: Data for upper secondary attainment include completion of a sufficient volume and
standard of programmes that would be classified individually as completion of intermediate upper secondary
programmes (16%oof the adults aged 25-64 are in this group).
Source'. Adapted 1Ìom OECD (20181r¡), OECD Educarion Statistics, htto://dx.doi.ore/10.1787ledu-data-en;
data provided by the Flemish Ministry of Education and Training.

StatLink Ð=F httos://doi org/10. 1787/88893394 I l0 I

There can be large differences in the employment rate of higher education graduates
across education levels in some countries or jurisdictions. For example, in Flanders and
Norway, the employment rate of 25-34 year-olds with a short-cycle degree is lower than
for those with only an upper secondary degree, and it is over 15 percentage points lower
than for those with a master's degree. In Austria, Luxembourg and the Slovak Republic,
the eriployment rates of young bãchelor's graduates is over 10 percentage points lower
than for 25-34 year-olds with a master's degree. In these same countries,25-34 year-old
bachelor's graduates are also less likely to be employed than people of the same age with
only an upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary degree. There is not much ofan
advantage in completing a master's programme in Flanders and Norway in terms of the
probability to find a job, with employment rates around the same as those for graduates
from bachelor's programmes.
The employment rate varies substantially by field of study. On average across OECD
countries, 87%o of 25-34 year-olds with a degree in engineering, manufacturing and
construction are employed, compared to 760/o of those with a degree in arts and
humanities and 78o/o of those with a degree in natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
(Figure 5.19). The Flemish Community, the Netherlands, Poland and the United States
have the smallest spread in the employment rate (less than l0 percentage points) among

BENCHMARKING HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM PERFORMANCE O OECD 2OI9

2ss I

CHAPTER 5. EDUCATION

almost 30% ofyoung gladuates ate unemployed and not in education, and

only 6yo are

inactive and not in education.
Figure 5.17. Graduates not in education and not in employment by labour
year-olds (2016)
Percentage ofunemployed and inactive individuals among I 5'29

r unemployed

o/o

force status' l5-29

year-old higher education graduates

@ lnætive

40
35
30
25
20
15
10

5

exercise 201712018'
Noles: *Participating in the Benchmarking Higher Education System Performance
ofreference2014'
Year
Chile: Year ofreference 2015. Japan:
Sour"r, Adapted Íïom oec-ó li}l}tzt\, )ECD Education stat¡stics, http://dx.doi.orq/10.1787/edu-data'en;
data provideå by the Flemish Ministry of Education and Training'

Statltnk AA

httos://doi.orq/10 1787/88893394 1082

with lower

Higher education gaduates enjoy higher employment rates than individuals
differences between gladuates as well' For
lev'els of education, but therõ are large
-by
higher education level, field of study and
example, the employment rate varies
subsector.

on average across OECD countries, the employmenl rate o,f 25^'34 year-olds with a
those with a short-

master's à'.gr.. is over 85o/o, a few percentage points higher than for
,y.t. o,. a-bachelor's degrée as túeir highest level of education (Figure 5'18)' This
cämpares with an employrñent rate of aboui 75%o for upper secondary
non-tertiary education graduates.

and post-secondary

in

As is the case with most OECD countries, graduates from bachelor's programme-s
outcomes than those
Flanders, the Netherlands and Norway all have better employment
non-teftiary
post-secondary,
or
education
who have only completed upper seðondary

gladuates is slightly
education.In contrast, in Estonìa, the employment rate of bachelor's
education'
secondary
upper
lower than among individuals with

BENCHMARKINGHIGHEREDUCATIONSYSTEMPERFORMANCE@OECD20l9

cHAPTERs. EDUcATToN I zsz

Figure 5.16. Difference in the employment, unemployment and inactivity rates between 25-34
year-olds with higher education and with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary
education (2017)
Percentage points

lo

lÊmployment

o Unemployment

E lnætivity

20
15

10

0
-5
-10
-15

"..-l'.i'$t{$t"{.$"*xlts$$.-"'"ov$"" {n.-f.r." Ë"*
Notes: *Pafücipating in the Benchmarking Higher Education System Performance exercise 2017/2018.
Japan: Data for higher education include upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary programmes (less
than 5o/o of adults are in this group). United Kingdom: Data for upper secondary or post-secondary nontertiary programmes are included in higher education (less than 5% ofadults are in this group).
Source: Adapted from OECD (2018r:l), OECD Education Statistics, htto://dx.doi.ore/10.1787/edu-data-en;
data provided by the Flemish Ministry of Education and Training.

Statl-lnk ñÉF httÞs ://doi.orell 0. I 787188893 394 I 063

The share of young higher education graduates who are neither employed nor in
educationlo is a concern in many countries because it suggests that the skills of many
young graduates are not being properly deployed in further education or the labour
market. This measure captures not only those who have not managed to find a job
(unemployed), but also those who are not actively seeking employment (inactive). The
number of graduates who end up in this category is relatively high throughout OECD
countries and, on average across OECD countries, about half of 15-29 year-olds are in
education, one-third are not in education but employed, and the others are neither
employed nor in education.
There may be a range of reasons why a graduate is not in employment or education. For
example, they could be discouraged at their job prospects and be no longer looking for
work; they may be parents of young children who have withdrawn from the labour force

to devote more time to parenting activities; or they may be taking a break after

graduation, before starting to look for a job or enrol in another education programme. On
average across OECD countries, l2%o of 15-29 year-old graduates are not in employment
and not in education, halfofwhom are inactive. Inactive individuals account for a large
proportion of graduates not in employment and not in education in some countries. For
example, in Estonia l0% of graduates younger than 30 are inactive and not in education,
and only 2o/o are unemployed and not in education (Figure 5.17). In contrast, in Greece

BENCHMARKING HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM PERFORMANCE @ OECD 2OI9