Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus was close to the EU average in 2024 for how often young people worked in jobs related to their field of study, Eurostat data showed. The figures pointed to a persistent skills mismatch across European labour markets.
Cyprus and EU study-to-job match rates
In 2024, around 57% of people aged 15-34 in Cyprus with medium or high education reported a “very high or high” match between their field of education and their current or last main job, compared with an EU average of 56.4%. The indicator measures how relevant a person’s studies are to the requirements of their job, on a scale from very high to no match.
Differences by education level
Across the EU, 46.1% of young people with medium education reported a strong match, while the share rose to 68.1% among higher-education graduates.
Differences by field of study
Health and welfare showed the closest alignment, with 80.6% of highly educated young people working directly in their field. Information and communication technologies followed at 77%, while education reached 73.6%. Broader academic disciplines were less closely linked to employment.
Lower matches in selected disciplines
Among highly educated young people, 52.2% of arts and humanities graduates struggled to find relevant work, followed by social sciences, journalism and information at 59.1% and services at 59.3%.
Country comparisons
Latvia (76.5%), Lithuania (76.1%) and Germany (75.2%) recorded the highest shares of strong matches, while Italy (41.6%), Slovakia (46.2%) and Denmark (47.1%) recorded the lowest.
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