The programme ‘Horizontal action to support university liaison offices’ has carried out a nationwide survey on the labour market absorption of graduates of Greek universities, with the cooperation of the liaison offices. Graduates from 1998, 1999 and 2000 comprised the reference population for the study. The survey was conducted by telephone interview between December 2004 and January 2006, and the results were published in February 2008.
A Greek national survey has examined the extent to which graduates have found jobs and the degree to which unemployment is a problem for them five to seven years after graduating. The survey also considered the quality of integration of those who have found work, in terms of job security and individual preferences, and the process of transition from education to employment. More than four out of five graduates were found to be working at the time of the study.
About the survey
The programme ‘Horizontal action to support university liaison offices’ has carried out a nationwide survey on the labour market absorption of graduates of Greek universities, with the cooperation of the liaison offices. Graduates from 1998, 1999 and 2000 comprised the reference population for the study. The survey was conducted by telephone interview between December 2004 and January 2006, and the results were published in February 2008.
Job integration
The survey findings show that, five to seven years after graduation, 84.2% of all those who graduated in 1998–2000 were in employment (Table 1). The proportion of employed graduates was slightly lower for women (83.7%) than for men (85%). Meanwhile, the overall share of unemployed graduates was 6.4% (5.3% for men and 7.2% for women), and the proportion of economically inactive graduates was 9.3%. If the percentage of unemployed persons is based only on economically active graduates – that is, those who are employed and unemployed in the labour market – it corresponds to an unemployment rate of 7.1%.
| Employed | Unemployed | Economically inactive | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 85.0 | 5.3 | 9.7 | 100.0 |
| Women | 83.7 | 7.2 | 9.1 | 100.0 |
| Total | 84.2 | 6.4 | 9.3 | 100.0 |
Note: Some of the data in the tables may add up to slightly more or less than the 100% where indicated, due to rounding of data.
Source: Karamessini, M., 2008
In order to assess the incidence of unemployment, account should be taken not only of the number of unemployed persons but also of the length of unemployment, which refers to the intensity of the problem. Five to seven years after graduation, 41% of unemployed graduates were found to have been unemployed for over one year, and 23.5% had been unemployed for over two years (Tables 2 and 3).
| Unemployment rate | Long-term unemployment rate of those unemployed | |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 5.3 | 30.3 |
| Women | 7.2 | 46.3 |
| Total | 6.4 | 41.0 |
Source: Karamessini, M., 2008
| Less than 6 months | 6–12 months | 12–24 months | 24 months | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 46.9 | 22.8 | 16.9 | 13.4 | 100.0 |
| Women | 34.8 | 18.9 | 17.7 | 28.6 | 100.0 |
| Total | 38.9 | 20.1 | 17.5 | 23.5 | 100.0 |
Source: Karamessini, M., 2008
Reasons for unemployment
The primary reason for unemployment, reported by 73% of unemployed graduates, was the lack of jobs in their area of specialisation. A further 39% of graduates cited lack of experience, training and skills, and 7% reported gender-based discrimination with regard mainly to graduates in specific occupational sectors (Table 4).
| Not many jobs in my profession | Employers prefer people with more experience | Employers hire people with more training or skills than I have | Employers consider my gender a disadvantage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 69.3 | 30.0 | 11.0 | 1.7 |
| Women | 75.0 | 27.0 | 10.9 | 9.7 |
| Total | 73.1 | 28.0 | 11.0 | 7.1 |
Source: Karamessini, M., 2008
Job security
At the time of the survey, the proportion of all employed graduates in stable employment was almost 71% (Table 5). The share of women in stable employment was lower than that of men by 4.5 percentage points.
| In stable employment* | In precarious employment** | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 73.5 | 26.5 | 100.0 |
| Women | 69.0 | 31.0 | 100.0 |
| Total | 70.8 | 29.2 | 100.0 |
Notes: The data in this table exclude graduates who are assistants in the family business. *In stable employment includes public servants, open-ended employment contract workers, contractors who state that they are in stable employment and self-employed people with or without staff who state that their business has good prospects. **In precarious employment includes fixed-term contract workers, contractors who state that they are in temporary employment and self-employed people who state that their business does not have good prospects.
Source: Karamessini, M., 2008
One important finding of the survey was that 43% of graduate contractors working mainly for one employer stated that they are in stable employment, compared with 57% who stated that they are in temporary employment. The proportion of public sector contractors who stated that they are in stable employment amounted to 63%, compared with 21% of contractors in the private sector.
Table 6 outlines the distribution of men and women, according to their contractual status five to seven years after graduation.
| Men | Women | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private sector employee | 40.9 | 39.7 | 40.2 |
| Public sector employee | 22.5 | 35.7 | 30.3 |
| = All employees | 63.4 | 75.4 | 70.5 |
| Contractor mainly with one employer, in the private sector | 7.6 | 4.6 | 5.8 |
| Contractor mainly with one employer, in the public sector | 10.3 | 10.1 | 10.2 |
| = Economically dependent workers | 17.9 | 14.7 | 16.0 |
| Self-employed without staff | 13.4 | 7.4 | 9.9 |
| Self-employed with staff | 4.5 | 1.7 | 2.9 |
| Assistant in family business | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| Total | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Source: Karamessini, M., 2008
Employment preferences
Almost 61% of university graduates, five to seven years after graduation, would prefer to work in the public sector (Table 7). Those who consider job security and work–life balance to be of particular importance generally opt for employment in this sector.
| Would like to work… | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in the public sector | in the private sector | in my own business | Total | |
| Men | 43.4 | 15.9 | 40.7 | 100.0 |
| Women | 72.4 | 9.1 | 18.6 | 100.0 |
| Total | 60.7 | 11.8 | 27.5 | 100.0 |
Source: Karamessini, M., 2008
Reference
Karamessini, M., Horizontal action to support university liaison offices, The absorption of university graduates in the labour market – Nationwide survey of graduates of the years 1998–2000, Athens, Dionikos Publications, 2008.
Sofia Lampousaki, Labour Institute of Greek General Confederation of Labour (INE/GSEE)
Eurofound doporučuje citovat tuto publikaci následujícím způsobem.
Eurofound (2008), Integration of university graduates in labour market, article.
This website is an official website of the European Union.
All official European Union website addresses are in the europa.eu domain.
See all EU institutions and bodies