In Australia, Which Field of Study Has the Highest Employment Rate?
2025-09-04
When it comes to graduate data, we have to mention Australia's GOS report. Discover which majors lead in employment outcomes.
GOS stands for the Graduate Outcomes Survey, a report that contains a range of data on recent graduates. This includes the key question many people are interested in: employment rates by field of study.
So, which major has the highest employment rate? First, let's look at the overall situation.
Overall Employment Trends
Source: Australia's GOS report
Generally, the employment rate for graduates in Australia is quite stable. Apart from a significant dip in the undergraduate employment rate at the start of the pandemic, the rates for all qualification levels have reached new highs since 2022.
Employment Performance by Field of Study
Source: Australia's GOS report
Now, let's look at the specific employment outcomes for different fields. The metrics used can be confusing, so here is a simple explanation:
- Full-time employment: This rate focuses only on graduates working in full-time jobs.
- Overall employment: This rate covers all employed graduates (both full-time and part-time).
- Labour force participation rate: This includes everyone who has a job and those who are currently looking for one.
For this ranking, we will focus on the second metric: Overall Employment.
The average overall employment rate across all fields of study in Australia is 88.9%.
Majors with Above-Average Employment Rates
Top Performing Fields (Above 88.9% average):
- Pharmacy: 97.9%
- Medicine: 97.0%
- Rehabilitation: 96.7%
- Teacher Education: 94.1%
- Veterinary Science: 92.3%
- Nursing: 91.9%
- Dentistry: 91.9%
- Engineering: 91.7%
- Agriculture and Environmental Studies: 91.2%
- Health Services and Support: 90.9%
- Business and Management: 89.9%
- Social Work: 89.8%
- Law and Paralegal Studies: 89.6%
The top performer is Pharmacy, with an overall employment rate of 97.9%.
Majors with Below-Average Employment Rates
If there are fields above average, there must also be fields below it. These include:
Fields Below Average (Under 88.9%):
- Tourism, Hospitality, Personal Services, Sport and Recreation: 88.2%
- Psychology: 88.1%
- Architecture and Built Environment: 87.3%
- Humanities, Culture and Social Sciences: 86.8%
- Science and Mathematics: 86.3%
- Communications: 85.1%
- Computing and Information Systems: 83.1%
- Creative Arts: 81.2%
The field with the lowest employment rate is Creative Arts, with an overall rate of 81.2%.
It is especially worth noting that the full-time employment rate for Creative Arts is only 53.5%. This means that almost 30% of its graduates are working in part-time roles.
Key Takeaways
- Health-related fields dominate the top employment rankings, with Pharmacy, Medicine, and Rehabilitation leading the way
- STEM fields like Engineering show strong employment outcomes above the national average
- Creative and humanities fields tend to have lower overall employment rates, with more graduates in part-time work
- The employment gap between the highest (Pharmacy at 97.9%) and lowest (Creative Arts at 81.2%) fields is significant at 16.7%
When choosing a field of study, it's important to consider these employment statistics alongside your personal interests, skills, and career aspirations. While employment rates are important, job satisfaction, growth potential, and alignment with your goals are equally crucial factors in making the right educational decision.