Unemployment among German university graduates hits record at 372,000 (Aug 2026)

Unemployment among Germans with university degrees reached a record high in August 2026, when the number of unemployed degree-holders rose to 372,000, the Federal Employment Agency in Nuremberg reported. The agency said the figure has been climbing steadily over the past five years and younger graduates are being hit hardest.

Despite the rise in absolute numbers, higher education still provides relative protection: in 2025 the unemployment rate for people with university-level qualifications stood at 3.3 percent — roughly half the rate for the population as a whole. By comparison, the unemployment rate for those with vocational qualifications was 3.6 percent, while it exceeded 21 percent for people without formal qualifications.

Field-by-field differences

The statistics reveal clear variation by field of study. Graduates in pedagogy faced very low unemployment in 2025 — under 2 percent — while humanities graduates experienced higher rates, about 4.6 percent. Engineers also posted an unemployment rate above the overall average, at 3.8 percent.

The Federal Employment Agency identified a weak economic outlook and the growing use of artificial intelligence as the main drivers behind the increase in unemployment among degree-holders. The agency warned that young people at the start of their careers are particularly vulnerable to these shifts.

Andrea Nahles, director of the Federal Employment Agency, told Handelsblatt: "We expect that over the next 15 years about 800,000 jobs in Germany will disappear because of artificial intelligence, but roughly the same number of new jobs will be created." The agency added that some sectors — business services, analytical roles in insurance companies and in banks — are already seeing stronger job reductions.

Young graduates are also waiting longer for their first employment, the agency noted: while they may not always secure their ideal job immediately, their chances remain better than those of most other groups on the labour market.

Photo: press material from the event