Many young people consider a degree and graduation to be useless nowadays. Yet statistics prove otherwise: Those who have completed a degree are significantly less likely to be unemployed than others.
Both Generation Z and Millennials dismiss their college degrees as worthless. According to a study by Indeed magazine, 51% of all surveyed Gen Z members consider their studies a waste of money.
And it is not hard to understand why: Entry-level positions in companies have been drastically cut, promotions are rare, and some have already given up their studies to pursue a “real” job.
However, when looking at national and international statistics, graduates are comparatively doing well. People who have completed a degree (Bachelor or Master) are still the least affected by unemployment. This is also one reason why many parents take on large debts to finance their children’s education.
People with a university degree are significantly less likely to be unemployed than those without qualifications
What do the statistics look like? Current data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that among workers aged 25 and older, people with a Bachelor’s degree have the lowest unemployment rate of all educational groups. At the beginning of 2026, it is still at 6.4% compared to about 2.8%. This is reported by Fortune.com.
In Germany, the data looks similar overall, when looking at the statistics from the Federal Employment Agency for 2026: The average unemployment rate in Germany is 6.4%, while among academics it is around 3%. For comparison: Among individuals without a general vocational qualification, the unemployment rate is 21.3%, significantly higher.
However, the Employment Agency emphasizes that unemployment among academics has been rising sharply for years, for various reasons: In recent years, many refugees with qualifications have come to Germany, which are now pushing the rates up because they still lack the language qualifications.
Nevertheless, a degree is still considered a good protection against unemployment: Anja Robert, a career advisor at the Career Center of RWTH Aachen University, explained to the magazine ZDFheute that a good education is still the best insurance against unemployment. Because even in times of crisis, academics are significantly less likely to be unemployed than those without a degree.
However, there is also another problem
: The number of academics in Germany has been steadily increasing for many years. While the number of academics in 1975 averaged only 7%, by 2021 it has already risen to 21%, significantly higher than ever before in Germany, leading to further problems: Generation Z is the best-educated generation in history: Unfortunately, it is also the most overqualified in the job market
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