Out of employment 111,549 masters degree holders in 2021

By Dimitris Katsaganis

Data – shock for the employment of postgraduate degree holders in Greece is provided by the report of the Strategy for the Upgrading of the Skills of the Workforce and the Interconnection with the Labor Market (Strategy of Skills of the Workforce) which was approved last week by the Ministry of Labour.

According to this (which is based on data from ELSTAT) the number of postgraduate workers decreased by 111,549 people or 27.13% between 2020-21. And this despite the fact that overall employment in Greece, during the same period, increased by 52,501 or 1.35%.

As this report typically states, “the number of employed people with a Master’s degree at the national level follows an upward trend with small fluctuations from 2011 (117,704) until 2020, a year in which 411,118 employed people are estimated. A decrease was recorded in 2021 by 27.13 % to 299,659 employed. However, the unemployed with a master’s degree also showed a drop of 55.93% in 2021. These two events are probably related either to the exit of the workforce with a master’s degree from the economically active population or to their employment outside the country”.

What happens to the workforce of other educational levels

In the same period, i.e. between 2020-21, the employment of tertiary education graduates increased (+19.1%) and the employment of post-secondary vocational training graduates decreased (-7.9%), while a marginal decrease occurred among secondary education graduates .

The same report states in detail:

– “In relation to the level of education, those employed with a Higher Education degree throughout the country follow a downward trend from 2011 to 2014, a year in which they are estimated at 1,035,555 employed. Then an upward trend is recorded until 2018 where the the total number of employees is 1,185,364, while a decrease of 9.77% and 2.50% is recorded in 2019 and 2020 respectively. to 1,242,172 employed. The unemployed with a Higher Education degree have recorded an upward trend over time since 2011, reaching 282,276 in 2015. Then a decreasing trend is recorded until 2020 (153,053) with an increase in 2021 by 16.97%, reaching 179,023, with 32.91% having never worked”.

-“The number of people employed with post-secondary education at the country level follows a downward trend from 2011 to 2013, a year in which 296,515 people are estimated to be employed. Then an upward trend is recorded until 2020 where the total number of people employed amounts to 411,718, with a decrease by 7.94% in 2021 where an estimated 384,557 people are employed. The unemployed with Post-secondary vocational training in 2013 are recorded at 159,830, while after a downward trend, 103,800 unemployed are estimated in 2020 and 73,287 in 2021 (a decrease of 29.40%).

– “The number of employed people with secondary education at the level of the country follows a downward trend from 2011 to 2013, a year in which 1,176,497 employed people are estimated. An upward trend is then recorded until 2019, where the total number of employed persons amounts to 1,353,944, while in 2020 a small drop is recorded to 1,342,313 employed persons, as well as in 2021 to 1,341,299 employed persons. The unemployed with a secondary school diploma show a significant increase after 2008, reaching 504,510 in 2013, while in 2020 they are estimated at 296,210 and in 2021 at 259,978 (a decrease of 12.57%)”.

– “Employed people who have completed the 3rd grade of secondary education show a decrease from 2011 (434,140) to 2013 (341,580), while after fluctuations they are estimated at 326,382 in 2020 and 325,433 in 2021. The number of unemployed have completed the 3 The middle education class fluctuates over time, however, the most important increase is recorded after 2008. In 2013, there were 165,841 unemployed, while after a downward trend they amount to 76,040 in 2020 and 74,317 in 2021”.