Eurostat: Romania's employment rate for recent tertiary graduates above EU average

The employment rate for EU graduates aged 20 - 34 who had attained a tertiary level education within the previous three years was 85.5 percent in 2018, 0.6 percentage points above the 2017 rate. With a rate of 88.9 pct, Romania stands above the European average, shows data released on Thursday by the European Statistical Office (Eurostat). 

The EU member states with the highest employment rates for recent tertiary graduates in 2018 are Malta (96.7 pct), the Netherlands (94.8 pct), Germany (94.3 pct), Luxembourg (94 pct), Sweden (92.5 pct), the Czech Republic and Hungary (91.5 pct each), Latvia (91.3 pct), Lithuania (90.4 pct), Austria (90.1 pct), Estonia (89 pct), Poland and Romania (88.9 pct each). 

Conversely, there were four EU member states where the rate was less than 80 pct: Spain (77.9 pct), Croatia (75.2 pct), Italy (62.8 pct) and Greece (59 pct). 

The employment rate for EU male recent tertiary education graduates was 87.2 pct, while for female graduates the rate was 84 pct. In Romania the rate is 90.7 pct for men and 87.5 pct for women. 

Tertiary education is the educational level attained following the completion of studies offered by universities, technical universities, technology institutes and other institutions that award academic diplomas or certificates of higher professional competence.