Bachelor labour market 2023
AQU Catalunya has completed in 2023 the 8th the study of the employment outcomes of graduates. The study is promoted by the Catalan public universities through their social councils, the private universities, and the Department of Education.
In this edition, 22,127 people with a bachelor's degree were surveyed (53% response rate), corresponding to the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 academic year (Medicine 2015-2016 and 2016-2017).
Analysis and results
Report
Employment outcomes of bachelor's degree graduates from Catalan universities (December 2023)
Webinar of presentation of results
Main survey results for bachelor's degree, masters and doctorates
Webinar video recording (20 December 2023)
Indicators
Web page EUC Dades: comparison of survey results among the HEIs running the degree programme.
What are the employment outocmes for bachelor's degree graduates form Catalan brick-and-mortar universities?
Employment
- Unemployment rate at the threshold of what is known as full employment (5%). The unemployment rate is far below the 9.3% for the Catalan population aged 25 to 54 as a whole (Idescat, 1st quarter 2023).
- Improved employment in all fields of knowledge. However, there are still significant differences between disciplines. The employment rate for Engineering graduates is almost 10 points higher than that of Humanities graduates.
- Clear impact of the 2022 labour reform. Job stability grows to encompass 64% of university graduate contracts.
Employment quality
- Increase in the average gross earnings of graduates. This has been the case since 2014, but the figures for 2011 remain unmatched if the effect of inflation is taken into account.
- Personal and family contacts and self-initiative less important in finding a first job. Substantial increase in the percentage of graduates entering the labour market for the first time via a web portal (from 7% in 2020 to 19% in 2023).
Satisfaction
- Stagnation of satisfaction with bachelor’s degrees. Although no improvement can be detected, the level of satisfaction remains positive: around 70% of graduates would repeat their degree programme. The main reason given for not choosing the same bachelor’s degree again is dissatisfaction with the resulting career opportunities. A significant percentage of those dissatisfied (40%) identify serious programme design or quality problems.
- English, the skill with the most room for improvement. This is the skill in which there is the greatest difference between the level of training received and that valued as useful for the job. This is closely followed by written expression, planning and organisation, and problem-solving.
Technical characteristics
Fieldwork: November-December 2022 for electronic mailings and January-May 2023 for telephone calls.
Participating universities: UB, UAB, UPC, UPF, UdG, UdL, URV, URL, UOC, UVic-UCC, UIC, UAO CEU. The UOC, as a fully online university, involved a different type of questionnaire and analysis.
Reference population and sample: The reference population was 42,214 graduates of the graduating classes of 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 (Medicine, 2015-2016 and 2016-2017). The 2019-2020 graduating class (Medicine 2016-2017) was only used for small strata.
Technical report:
L'informe tècnic de l’enquesta d’inserció laboral dels titulats i titulades de les universitats catalanes 2023
Data protection policy: Consult the information on the source and use of personal data from the AQU Catalunya employment outcomes survey.