Out of 160,000 college graduates in the class of 2004, 8.51 percent remain unemployed a year after completing a bachelor’s degree. This is roughly twice that of the 4.44 percent general unemployment rate reported in 2005.

The 8.51 percent figure does not include graduates who took the year off to study for graduate-school entrance, teacher-certification, or civil service examinations and is therefore a low estimate. However, the MOE and various colleges stated that the unemployment situation revealed in the survey is “better than expected,” according to the survey.

College representatives remarked on the difficult transition college graduates face, said the report.

Majors with the highest employment rates include Tourism (64.7 percent), Family and Consumer Science (63.9 percent), and Business Administration (55.8 percent). Majors with the lowest employment rates include Law (23.9 percent) and Education (22.7 percent). Statistics are to be taken with a grain of salt, however, as 24.6 percent of all employed graduates say their work has had little to do with their chosen majors.

According to the survey, 26.68 percent of all class members were pursuing higher education a year after graduation.

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