{"id":7502,"date":"2025-12-05T15:39:19","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T15:39:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.recruit.ie\/careers\/?p=7502"},"modified":"2025-12-05T15:40:31","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T15:40:31","slug":"graduate-employment-steady-at-80-2-hea-releases-2024-graduate-outcomes-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.recruit.ie\/careers\/graduate-employment-steady-at-80-2-hea-releases-2024-graduate-outcomes-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Graduate Employment Steady at 80.2%: HEA Releases 2024 Graduate Outcomes Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"471\" data-end=\"706\">The Higher Education Authority (HEA) has published its <a href=\"https:\/\/hea.ie\/statistics\/graduate-outcomes-data-and-reports\/\"><em data-start=\"526\" data-end=\"550\">Graduate Outcomes 2024<\/em><\/a> report, revealing stable employment levels and key insights into how Ireland\u2019s newest graduates are progressing nine months after completing their studies.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"708\" data-end=\"890\">This year\u2019s survey captures the destinations of 70,921 graduates, almost evenly split between female (55.6%) and male (44.0%) respondents, with a 50.9% overall response rate.<\/p>\n<h6 data-start=\"897\" data-end=\"935\"><strong data-start=\"900\" data-end=\"935\">Employment Outcomes Hold Steady<\/strong><\/h6>\n<p data-start=\"937\" data-end=\"1147\">The report shows that 80.2% of graduates are in employment nine months after graduation. This is slightly up from 80.0% in the previous year, though still below the 83.0% recorded for the Class of 2022.<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"1149\" data-end=\"1332\">\n<li data-start=\"1149\" data-end=\"1248\">\n<p data-start=\"1151\" data-end=\"1248\">Education graduates continue to lead the way, with an impressive 91.6% employment rate.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1249\" data-end=\"1332\">\n<p data-start=\"1251\" data-end=\"1332\">Arts &amp; Humanities graduates recorded the lowest employment rate at 63.1%.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"1334\" data-end=\"1601\">Despite fluctuations in the broader labour market, this year\u2019s graduate employment levels remain robust. For context, the CSO\u2019s national unemployment rate in March 2025 stood at 4.5%, while the youth unemployment rate was considerably higher at 11.4%.<\/p>\n<h6 data-start=\"1608\" data-end=\"1635\"><strong data-start=\"1611\" data-end=\"1635\">Further Study Trends<\/strong><\/h6>\n<p data-start=\"1637\" data-end=\"1795\">The proportion of graduates pursuing further study sits at 10.7%, marginally down on last year (11.1%) but slightly higher than the Class of 2022 (10.3%).<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1797\" data-end=\"1888\">Students in certain disciplines are particularly inclined to continue academic progression:<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"1890\" data-end=\"2049\">\n<li data-start=\"1890\" data-end=\"1933\">\n<p data-start=\"1892\" data-end=\"1933\">Arts &amp; Humanities graduates \u2013 21.5%<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1934\" data-end=\"2002\">\n<p data-start=\"1936\" data-end=\"2002\">Natural Sciences, Mathematics &amp; Statistics graduates \u2013 18.9%<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2003\" data-end=\"2049\">\n<p data-start=\"2005\" data-end=\"2049\">Education graduates \u2013 the lowest at 4.3%<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"2051\" data-end=\"2225\">This reflects ongoing demand for enhanced qualifications in competitive sectors, as well as the traditional pipeline from Arts and Science degrees into postgraduate training.<\/p>\n<h6 data-start=\"2232\" data-end=\"2263\"><strong data-start=\"2235\" data-end=\"2263\">Graduate Cohort Overview<\/strong><\/h6>\n<p data-start=\"2265\" data-end=\"2322\">The survey also gives a useful breakdown of study fields:<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"2324\" data-end=\"2459\">\n<li data-start=\"2324\" data-end=\"2370\">\n<p data-start=\"2326\" data-end=\"2370\">Business, Administration &amp; Law \u2013 24.3%<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2371\" data-end=\"2403\">\n<p data-start=\"2373\" data-end=\"2403\">Health &amp; Welfare \u2013 16.2%<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2404\" data-end=\"2459\">\n<p data-start=\"2406\" data-end=\"2459\">Engineering, Manufacturing &amp; Construction \u2013 11.0%<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"2461\" data-end=\"2686\">Almost half of respondents (49.8%) completed Undergraduate Honours Degrees, while 27.8% graduated from Taught Masters programmes, highlighting the ongoing strength of Ireland\u2019s postgraduate education pathways.<\/p>\n<h6 data-start=\"2693\" data-end=\"2733\"><strong data-start=\"2696\" data-end=\"2733\">Unemployment and Other Activities<\/strong><\/h6>\n<p data-start=\"2735\" data-end=\"2862\">The proportion of graduates who were unemployed remains at 6.5%, unchanged from the Class of 2023 but up from 4.4% in 2022.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2864\" data-end=\"3024\">Meanwhile, 2.6% of respondents reported being engaged in other activities such as travel, volunteering or home duties\u2014slightly higher than last year\u2019s 2.5%.<\/p>\n<h6 data-start=\"3031\" data-end=\"3082\"><strong data-start=\"3034\" data-end=\"3082\">What This Means for Employers and Jobseekers<\/strong><\/h6>\n<p data-start=\"3084\" data-end=\"3432\">For employers, the data reinforces the continued strength of Ireland\u2019s graduate talent pipeline, particularly in areas such as education, business, engineering and health.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3084\" data-end=\"3432\"><br data-start=\"3255\" data-end=\"3258\" \/>For jobseekers, the report offers reassurance: despite global economic uncertainty, Ireland\u2019s graduate employment landscape remains stable, with strong demand in key sectors.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2308\" data-end=\"2697\">Whether you\u2019re a graduate entering the workforce or an employer seeking fresh talent, now is the time to act. Graduates should explore available career support services, internships, and upskilling opportunities to boost employability. Employers can engage with graduate recruitment programmes, internships, and partnerships with higher education institutions to access top talent early.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2699\" data-end=\"2834\"><strong data-start=\"2699\" data-end=\"2832\">Stay ahead! Visit <a class=\"decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.recruit.ie\" target=\"_new\" rel=\"noopener\" data-start=\"2718\" data-end=\"2754\">Recruit.ie<\/a> to explore the latest graduate job opportunities and recruitment resources.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Higher Education Authority (HEA) has published its Graduate Outcomes 2024 report, revealing stable employment levels and key insights into how Ireland\u2019s newest graduates are progressing nine months after completing their studies. This year\u2019s survey captures the destinations of 70,921 graduates, almost evenly split between female (55.6%) and male (44.0%) respondents, with a 50.9% overall &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.recruit.ie\/careers\/graduate-employment-steady-at-80-2-hea-releases-2024-graduate-outcomes-report\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Graduate Employment Steady at 80.2%: HEA Releases 2024 Graduate Outcomes Report<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":4280,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"The report shows that 80.2% of graduates are in employment nine months after graduation. This is slightly up from 80.0% in the previous year, though still below the 83.0% recorded for the Class of 2022.","_seopress_robots_index":"","content-type":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set"},"categories":[47],"tags":[294],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.recruit.ie\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7502"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.recruit.ie\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.recruit.ie\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.recruit.ie\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.recruit.ie\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7502"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.recruit.ie\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7507,"href":"https:\/\/www.recruit.ie\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7502\/revisions\/7507"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.recruit.ie\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.recruit.ie\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.recruit.ie\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.recruit.ie\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}