New data show job offers for young professionals – university graduates with up to three years of experience – have fallen 30 percent since 2022. IT, consulting, and logistics sectors are hit hardest. Unemployment among academics exceeds three percent for the first time since 2007.
Germany's job market for academics has deteriorated. For nearly two decades, unemployment among university graduates stayed below three percent, which economists called full employment. Last year, it exceeded three percent for the first time since 2007, rising faster than the population average.
Index Research analyzed job ads on portals, in print media, and nearly one million company websites, exclusively obtained by WirtschaftsWoche. Between 2022 and 2025, offers for young professionals dropped 30 percent. In the first quarter of 2026, there were 27 percent fewer listings targeting this group, such as junior roles, traineeships, or volunteer positions, compared to the prior year.
IT, consulting, and logistics are particularly affected. Only a few occupational groups are still growing. Young professionals face challenges, though they fare better than non-graduates.
