College graduates gain employment in record numbers after Covid-19 rebound

College graduates secured employment in record numbers last year as the economy rebounded following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Official data for the class of 2021, based on graduates’ employment status nine months after leaving college, shows that some 82 per cent were working.

Employment rates were highest for education graduates and lowest for those in the arts and humanities. However, arts and humanities graduates were also the most likely to be involved in full-time study or research after graduation.

Overall, the proportion of graduates pursuing further study such as a masters fell to 12 per cent last year, down from 14 per cent in 2020 and 13 per cent in 2018.

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For the class of 2021, just 4 per cent of graduates were unemployed nine months after graduation, compared to 8 per cent in 2018.

The vast majority with undergraduate honours degrees were working in Ireland (91 per cent). Dublin was the most common county of employment (43 per cent), followed by Cork (14 per cent) and Galway (7 per cent). About six in 10 graduates considered their course relevant to their job.

Average earnings for all graduates were just over €38,000, with sharp differences across individual areas of study. The highest earners were ICT or tech graduates (€45,197), followed by engineering, manufacturing and construction (€42,761), health and welfare (€38,728).

By contrast, arts and humanities graduates earned the least (€29,770), followed by agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary (€32,548) and social sciences, journalism and information (€35,846).

Graduates with higher levels of education were generally more likely to earn higher sums after leaving college, but not in all cases.

PhD graduates earned the most nine months after graduation (€50,272), followed by masters’ students (€43,383) and diploma graduates (€40,118). Surprisingly, honours degree graduates earned the least (€33,980). However, when the figures are adjusted to compare like-for-like graduates, honours degree graduates earn more than diploma graduates in relative terms.

The figures are contained in the Graduate Outcomes Survey: Class of 2021, due to be published by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) at its 50th anniversary conference in Dublin on Wednesday.

In all, just over 72,000 students (54 per cent female, 46 per cent male) graduated from across 23 higher education institutions. The most common fields of study are business, administration and law (27 per cent), health and welfare (16 per cent) and arts and humanities (12 per cent). Half graduated from undergraduate honours degree programmes while a quarter graduated from taught masters programmes.

Dr Vivienne Patterson, the HEA’s head of skills, engagement and statistics, said the findings show there has been a strong rebound in employment from last year’s Covid-19 pandemic-affected graduate employment rates.

“This is in line with broader economic trends which show continued employment growth across all sectors of the economy,” she said.

This report also contains research on wider outcomes such as: graduates’ trust in institutions, political engagement and impact on public policy; health; and parenting and childcare.

It shows that higher education graduates tend to have a higher level of trust in public institutions; are more likely to vote; and have a greater awareness of, and sense of responsibility towards, social justice. They are also more likely to live longer and experience obesity less than those with lower levels of education.

Maternal education levels have a significant impact on the educational outcomes of children, with higher educational attainment of mothers associated with superior child literacy and educational outcomes.

Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris said it was very positive to see a strong recovery in employment levels among graduates following the pandemic. He said the report also highlighted the importance higher education brings to graduates and wider society, in terms of “health and wellbeing, active citizenship and societal outcomes.”